Dragon Realms
by nightdragon0
Summary: Enter a world without humans, where Pokemon and Dragons rule. Caught in the midst of a war between the two sides, a group will face their challenges with a new ability...to merge into the bodies of Ancient Dragons! Now, the legend evolves! [Completed]
1. Bahamut’s Roar! A Legend’s Awakening!

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

_**Author's note:**_ _This fic also the third installment of the Dragon Riders Chronicles. It follows after 'Dragon Riders Chronicles', 'Dragon Riders 02: Kaze no Kaeru' and also after the Dragon Riders' appearances in 'United We Stand' (By_ _Theo Blitz Leung)._

_You needn't have read any of the afore mentioned fics to enjoy this one, but it's highly recommended!_

* * *

**Prologue: Bahamut's Roar! A Legend's Awakening! **

By nightdragon0

I watched in horror as the gigantic dragon's jaws closed over me.

Ignoring the protests of my battered body, I forced myself up, driving up my claws against the upper jaw.

The Rock Dragon felt this, and responded by pushing down harder.

I fought back with everything that was left in my aching body. Although my claws were built like steel, the teeth were still cutting into them.

Blood trickled down across my face and into my eyes.

I was a powerful, armored Scizor, and yet, to meet my end as a mere chew toy for this great beast? Crushed alive by a never-before seen creature in some unknown place?

The dragon then wrapped its tongue around my body, deepening my agony. I strained myself until I felt like every muscle in my body had been ripped and torn apart.

I barely even noticed the acidic sting of its saliva. I was already beyond such pain.

I turned my head and saw Kris, sprawled across the floor. Her sword lay nearby, through it was useless now.

She too was bleeding in many places, but lying completely still. If even I hadn't stood a chance, how could my human partner have?

Yet, she'd chosen to fight alongside me…and suffered the consequences.

The dragon began trashing about in frustration, sending rocks falling from the cavern's ceiling.

I could hear the screams of the others, having the dilemma of either running and diving for cover or attempting to help us.

My brain was screaming for oxygen as my senses slowly begun to fail.

Then, I slipped, moving one foot. One of the lower incisors went straight through one side of my left thigh and out the other side.

It was as if my world had suddenly ended.

My strength had been drained, however my body remained in its position, as if desperate to cling on to life.

_Is…this…my…destiny…? _

For one last time, I looked out, over to Kris. I was surprised to see she was moving.

Kris' hand grasped around something that glittered in the dim light. It was a crystal with a metallic silver color.

_Spirit…Crystal… _

The words just snapped into my mind.

Suddenly, the crystal began to glow, emitting a blinding light which startled everyone, including the dragon that was about to devour me alive.

The light wrapped part of itself around Kris, then flew over to me.

I felt an odd surge of energy as it swept throughout my body.

I closed my eyes…and when I opened them again, I found myself standing in a foggy area surrounded by white light. Kris was standing there too, looking around in confusion until she saw me.

Time seemed to slow down as both of us reached out for each other, hand to claw. There was another flash and a new figure appeared between us.

It was a muscular-looking armored dragon with a humanoid body shape. Standing upright, he stood about 5 feet tall, with a huge pair of gray feather-like wings that sprouted from his back, almost like metallic feathers.

His head was elongated like a dragon's, covered in a silver helmet with three horns pointing backwards, two at the sides, one at the tip of the snout.

The jaws were lined with silver, razor sharp teeth. The rest of his body was covered in silver armor, leaving sections like the knee pads, chest plate, waist, arm pads, fore and rear claws in black. On each of his shoulder pads was a silver and black striped horn. His tail was long and solid, also silver with black stripes on it.

His blue eyes moved, gazing from both myself, then Kris.

He had three fingers on each fore claw and three talon-like toes on each foot. Now, he raised an arm, allowing us to see a silver laser cannons attached to each forearm, protected by a black shielding.

Both of this new dragon's thighs had a symbol engraved on them. Instinctively, Kris and I reached out to touch them. I realized it was a Japanese Kanji for 'Hagane', meaning 'Steel'.

The symbol literally flew off the dragon's body and infused itself onto both my thighs and onto the back of Kris' right fist.

The dragon of steel nodded to us as the 'dream world' begun to fade.

Kris and I stared into each others' eyes and nodded.

"DRAGON MELD! ACTIVATE!"

The background had changed to an outer space setting, filled with stars. I was flying around and saw Kris further on. Some unseen force guided me as I flew into her. Suddenly, I could see us from many view points, even third person.

Silver light was running all over us, merging us together….into the body of the armored, Steel Dragon!

_This is…no ordinary dragon…it's the Legendary Steel Dragon! _

"Steel's Regiment…Bahamut!"

I was now back in the cavern, with a huge difference…the Rock Dragon was the one sprawled across the floor. While I still paled in comparison to the 30 foot Rock Dragon, I…we…certainly felt otherwise.

(Kris? ) I asked. I could somehow feel her presence in my mind.

(I'm here…where ever here is. ) She replied. (What's going on? )

(I don't know, but I think we have to go with the flow. )

'My' body moved even without the conscious thought. I sprang onto my opponent, throwing a series of slashes and kicks that never even gave it a chance to retaliate.

In the final burst, I performed a summersault kick, connecting with the bottom of the Rock Dragon's chin. The beast fell as I landed neatly on my feet.

I put the blasters on my arms together, and unleashed a brilliant burst that tore through the Rock Dragon's head. It gave one final cry before it disintegrated, leaving nothing but a charred spot on the floor.

(What…what the?! )

(I don't know… ) I moaned. (AAARGHHHHH! )

(AARGGHHHHH! )

"RRRRAAARRGGHHHH!"

I dropped to one knee, pain suddenly exploding into my head. Visions, no memories shot into my mind. Both my memories and Kris'.

In particular, memories of the events that had led us here in the first place.

* * *

_Will you join me on that journey? The time to decide is now…_


	2. Back to the Beginning…

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Back to the Beginning… **

By nightdragon0

**Flashback… **

A slight shaking drew Kris Invorce away from the fading word of the song, and also from her sleep.

She was an Asian girl of 18, with short, night-black hair. Somewhat tomboyish in nature, she was dressed in black jeans and a blue T-shirt. Over it was a black jacket and on her hands a pair of fingerless gloves.

"Hmmm? Nightslice? What is it?" She asked, pulling her sunglasses off and sitting up.

Her companion, a red armored Scizor known as Nightslice, pointed with one of his pincers. A brown haired boy was jogging towards them, waving his hand.

"Hey! Are you a trainer? Wanna battle?"

"Won't mind." Kris nodded, pulling herself to her feet. "But just one-on-one. Ready Nightslice?"

The Scizor gave his confirmation by snapping into his battle stance. It was a wide open grassy field with only several trees and a large clump of bushes nearby. A prefect spot for a battle.

"All right! Then I'm going with Typhlosion!" The boy called, letting loose the fire Pokemon.

_Predictable enough._ Kris thought.

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower!"

Nightslice stood calmly as the stream of fire rocketed towards him and at the last moment, twisted his body and stepped aside, letting the stream pass right by him.

"Nicely done." Kris told him.

"Flamethrower again!"

Once again, Nightslice dodged the fire attack.

"Go!" Kris ordered.

In the blink of an eye, Nightslice had cleared the space between himself and his opponent. Using Metal Claw, he smashed both his pincers against his opponent's chin, sending the Typhlosion rolling backwards.

"Wow…" The boy muttered. "But we can match that! Fury Swipes!"

"Take him on! Agility!"

Typhlosion charged and begun swiping furiously with his claws. Nightslice parried the first few attacks, and then took to dodging left and right. Frustrated, Typhlosion tried a Headbutt, which Nightslice somersaulted over, throwing a two-footed kick to his opponent's back in the process.

Nightslice snarled, landing and striking an intimidating pose.

"Nightslice, Double Team!"

Responding instantaneously, his form split into several mirror images, encircling the startled Typhlosion.

"Don't be fooled Typhlosion! Send Swift at all the images! It'll find the real one!"

The Typhlosion did as he was told, throwing the star-shaped projectiles in all directions. One by one, the images were hit and vanished.

"Huh?!" The trainer gasped once the last image was gone. "Where's the real one?!"

"Look up." Kris grinned.

"What the?!"

Up in the air was Nightslice, wings spread, descending towards his opponent at an astonishing pace.

(The screen goes black and a single slash appears across it.)

Nightslice calmly landed and folded his arms, facing his back towards his opponent as the Typhlosion collapsed.

Kris and Nightslice gave each other high-fives as the defeated trainer ran over to his Pokemon's side.

* * *

"Another typical trainer." Kris muttered, watching the boy run off. "How I wish I could be like you at times."

Nightslice scanned the area, making sure there was on one else around. Then, he spoke, and did so in human language.

"I wish I could be a typical Pokemon too."

"It's hard sometimes." Kris agreed, unsheathing a Katana strapped to her side.

It was a beautiful design, a well-made blade with a black and red handle in the shape of a dragon.

"Knowing I'm not fully human, but part Scyther as well. Knowing I was part of a series of genetic experiments…or accidents considering it."

Kris' eyes reflected that fact, being a light tint of blue and very Scyther-like. With speed and precision not possible of any human, she leapt up a nearby tree, branch by branch, and sliced an apple off the highest point.

"You have it easy comparing to the fact that I'm descended from an evil Dragon God." Nightslice replied.

"Whom we destroyed, seemingly a long time ago." Kris reminded him. "Well, with everything that's been happening, it seems long at least."

"But did we really?"

"Huh?"

"Really destroy him?" Nightslice continued. "I still hear his voice in my nightmares. The screams of our friends, who died fighting alongside us."

"It's over now…" Kris stopped short, indicating the clump of bushes with her eyes.

Nightslice gave a confirmative gestured, and together, they tackled the figures hiding within the bushes.

"Tough luck Jade." Kris grinned, standing over the figure she'd just knocked down. "It'll take more practice to sneak up on me. By the way, I heard you just turned 20. Happy birthday."

"Haha, see you haven't lost that icy touch of yours Kris." Jade laughed, allowing Kris to help him to his feet.

Jade Mitchel was a blond haired man wearing a black shirt, green jeans and a green photographer's vest with multiple pockets. Beside him was a rectangular bag in which Kris knew he always carried a laptop.

"Ow!" Another voice sounded. "Nightslice! Let go of my wings this instant! I just had them done up and you're gonna ruin them!"

"Hey Firestorm, when did you become so vain?" Nightslice taunted.

He was on the Charizard's back with his arms wrapped around Firestorm's wings and neck. Firestorm shook wildly as he failed to get Nightslice off him.

"All right! You asked for it!" With that, Firestorm brought up his flaming tail and stuck in into Nightslice's backside.

"RRRaarrgghhh!" Nightslice screamed, jumping off.

Firestorm took the distraction and turned the tables by grabbing Nightslice from behind.

"Feels much better when you're the one being strangled!"

"Grrrrr…fine! Take that!" Nightslice swung his leg back, hitting Firestorm between his legs.

The Charizard gawked on surprise, stumbling back clutching his groin area. Nightslice pounced onto him and the two begun a struggling and insulting frenzy.

"Gee, those two see each other for the first time in nearly a year and the first thing they have to do is fight." Jade commented.

"It's typical." Kris replied. "Some things will never change I guess."

"But a lot still will."

"What brings you to this part of the Orange Islands, by the way?"

"I'm actually here to do a few photographs for this nature magazine." Jade told her. "I was just asking around the Pokemon center and the nurse mentioned someone matching your description. It's quite a coincidence, really."

_Almost too much of a coincidence… _Kris thought.

"Anyway, how are the others?"

"I know at least Hazuki and Nala have a rented apartment on Lazuli Island. Since the Chimera incident in the Trilands, all of us have been lying low. Or in our case, wandering aimlessly around."

"We all have our limits." Kris sighed.

Chimera was their term for others like themselves, human with Pokemon DNA. Jade had been referring to a battle they'd once joined with others like them, fighting for their freedom. Those who survived seemingly lived only to face the challenge of re-adapting to the lives they'd lost.

What the other Chimeras never knew was that Kris' sub-group had been involved in far greater battles, against ancient Gods and even Legendary Dragons.

Only now, a new one was about to begin…

* * *

"Looks like a storm's brewing up." Kris muttered, looking up at the sky.

"A big one too…" Jade added in.

As if on cue, several drops began falling. All of a sudden, it turned into a huge downpour.

"Aw crap!" Moaned Firestorm as they begun to run.

"Don't worry! The Port Center is up ahead." Nightslice pointed. "There'll be shelter there!"

The group sprinted through the pouring rain, threw open the building's double doors…and promptly crashed into a couple of figures standing in the entrance way.

"Nala? Hazuki?" Kris gasped from her spot on the floor.

"Kris? Wow, is that really you?" Nala stood up, equally surprised.

Nala Enhustan was now 17. She had brown eyes, with her black hair coming down past her shoulder level. She was dressed in a pink pair of denim shorts and a dark blue short sleeveless shirt that left her stomach uncovered. A green sweater was also tied around her waist.

"Yeah, you're about one of the last people we expected to meet here, of all places." Hazuki added in.

Since their previous adventures, Nala had become close friends with Hazuki Yamazashi, who was a couple of years younger. Hazuki was much shorter and very fair skinned, almost a snowy white. Her light blue hair and eyes seemed to match her long-sleeved shirt and white jeans.

"This is all quite intriguing indeed, but would you chaps mind getting off me before starting to go all mushy will the reunions and other stuff?" A voice moaned from beneath the pile.

This was Riot, a young Aerodactyl who was Nala's partner. Like Firestorm and Nightslice, she too could speak human language, and did so with a British accent.

"If you could be any louder Riot, you'd have the reporters swarming on us 'talking' Pokemon." Nightslice muttered.

"Don't worry, the place is pretty empty." Nala assured them. "Most of the employees are off for the weekend. Those still here are outside managing their boats and equipment. Storms out here in this region and really strong sometimes."

"But what about you guys?" Jade asked.

"Well, basically we work here." Hazuki grinned. "Managing all the radio transmissions and stuff from the ships."

"Onee-san!" (Meaning 'Older sister' in Japanese.)

A young girl came running around the corner.

"Oh, hi Yusia!" Kris waved. "I almost forgot you were with them."

Yusia Parsal was a 10 year old girl who had been rescued from an experimental facility during a previous encounter, known as the Chimera Incident. Hazuki had unofficially adopted Yusia as her little sister.

She had light blue eyes and matching light blue hair with hints of white. The hair was shoulder length and tied back into a pony tail. She wore a white T-shirt which had dark blue borders on the edge and light blue jeans with white stripes going down the outside of each pant leg.

"Kris!" Yusia smiled. "I told Onee-san you would be coming. Are you getting ready to go on your new adventure?"

"Huh? I…"

Just then, a doorbell sounded.

"Looks like someone's at the side door." Hazuki said. "Yusia, would you mind, go see who it is."

"OK!"

"It started after you left Kris," Hazuki spoke once Yusia was gone. "Yusia, well, sometimes she sees visions of the future. And very accurate ones too."

"Hmmm…" Kris nodded.

"Big sister! It's that tall, weird and creepy looking guy with the Houndoom again!"

"She means Alken." Nala said, running to the side. "Hold on Yusia, I'm coming!"

"You're referring to Alken Wong from the Chimera Incident, right?" Kris asked.

"Yes." Hazuki confirmed. "He comes around here sometimes. We keep trying to invite him to stay, but he never agrees."

"Oh god! Alken, what happened?" Nala's voice rang out from the doorway.

The entire group sprang from their places and ran to the door, where Nala was helping Alken onto a chair. Alken was a Chinese, with brown eyes and his shoulder length black hair tied in a ponytail. He wore a white shirt with a black pair on long pants. Alken had taken off his black coat allowing Kris to clearly see his left sleeve was soaked with blood.

Alken's partner, Abetos, stood beside them with a distinctly concerned look on his face. As much as a blind Houndoom with a black scarf tied around his eyes could at least.

In addition to that, both of them were soaking wet.

"It's nothing Nala, don't worry about it." Alken insisted.

"Hang on, I'll get the first-aid kit." Hazuki said, running off.

"Alken, what did happen?" Kris asked.

The 28 year old gave Kris and Jade a 'greeting' nod as Hazuki wrapped his arm in a bandage.

"This old couple was swept out to sea on their boat." Alken explained. "A group of passer-bys and sailors were trying to help them. I was there, and I got hit by a broken piece of the pier. The sailors were trying to get their boat started to go after them, but there seemed to be some engine trouble. I came here to get some help."

"I'll call the Coast Guard." Nala decided, running over to the communications station. "Damn! There's too much interference from the storm! I can't get through!"

"Even if you could get through, I doubt the Coast Guard would arrive in time." Alken muttered.

"Then we'll go out after them!" Nala declared, grabbing a bunch of keys off the desk.

"Are you crazy? You'll get swept out by the storm!" Alken yelled.

"The Rescue Boats stand a good chance!" Nala pointed to one through the glass window. "Come on, I could use your help! Riot doesn't do well in the water!"

"All right." Kris nodded, running after her.

The rest of the group, minus Alken, immediately followed.

"Yusia, stay here." Hazuki told her. "We'll be back soon."

"Hey wait!" Alken called, standing up. "Damn, we can't leave those kids to go out along. Abetos, come on!"

Outside, Nala had hit the ignition, the speedboat's engine roaring to life. Alken raced for the boat and jumped aboard as it begun to move.

"Hey! Wait! Yusia's outside!" Firestorm yelled, looking back.

"Yusia! What are you doing?" Hazuki yelled. Not happy that her little sister had followed them outside.

"Argh!" Yusia slipped on the wet pier.

In a flash, Nightslice leapt across the gap and grabbed the girl. Using the pier as a springboard, he pushed off against it and spread his wings, barely managing to glide back to the boat.

"Yusia! I told you not to come!" Hazuki scolded angrily.

"I'm sorry big sis, but you'll need me for this too! I can help save the people too!"

"This isn't a game you know? You could've been hurt!" Hazuki sighed. "Nevermind, put on a life vest and stay inside with Nala, all right?"

"Yes sis."

In the midst of their excitement, no one noticed the cloaked figure standing on the roof of the building, watching their every move. And in the next flash of lightning, the figure had disappeared, leaving no trace that it had even been there at all.

* * *

"Look! There they are!" Hazuki pointed, shouting over the howling of the wind.

Up ahead, two figures were barely visible, waving desperately to attract attention. The engine of their boat had apparently been damaged, leaving the small ship at the mercy of the raging waves.

"OK, Firestorm, Riot, I know you two don't like water much, but we need you to try and keep that boat as stable as possible." Kris instructed. "We can't let them drift off any further."

The two flyers took off to do their part as Nala pulled the boat in closer, trying her best to steady it. Alken and Jade held on to Hazuki as she threw a rope over to the other boat. Nightslice carried Kris and made a long jump over to the other boat.

"Here, secure this to something!" Kris yelled.

"Thank you!" The elderly man replied. "I'll tie it. Hold on!"

"Hurry!" Jade called from the rescue boat. "The instruments show a large wave is approaching!"

"It's done!" The man called, running back to Kris.

"Jade! Alken! Help them across!" Kris shouted. Without waiting for a reply, she raced for the ship's steering wheel and spun it in an attempt to steady the boat. "Storm! Riot!"

Roars and grunts came from the two Pokemon as they held on to the back and front of the affected ship.

"Mission accomplished!" Jade yelled, once the old couple was across. "Get back here now!"

All of a sudden, a wave swept past, snapping the rope holding the two ships in half.

"Damn! Abetos! Hurry!" Alken snatched up another rope and followed his Houndoom as he leapt across.

"Alken!" Jade screamed.

"Guargh!" Alken fell short of his target, but managed to grab the rail of the other boat with one hand. With Abetos' help, Alken struggled against the waves to pull himself up.

Hazuki and Jade brought up yet another rope. But then, a wave hit the boat, throwing both of them off it.

"No!" Yusia screamed, running out the door, into the rain.

"Wait! Yusia!" Nala abandoned the wheel and dashed after the young girl.

"Watch out!" The old man warned.

A little too late, Yusia slipped. Nala dove for her, but a sudden movement from the boat sent them flying off as well. Riot suddenly dove into the water after her partner, despite her weakness to water.

Everything was happening so fast that Kris barely had any time to comprehend it. All she remembered was seeing her friends plunge into the waves, and running out onto the deck. Warnings from Nightslice and Firestorm caused her to look up…just in time to see a huge wave crashing down upon them.

Just as suddenly, she was being tossed and thrown about by the waves, gasping for air. It was impossible to tell left from right, or where the others were.

However, one time her head blobbed to the surface, Kris saw something that frightened her even more.

It was a figure seemingly standing on the water. Time seemed to stop as Kris slowly examined its every detail. It was a humanoid figure shrouded in a black glow. It was easily 6 feet tall, with a serpent-like head, a huge pair of wings on its back and a tail waving behind it. Its wrists had swords mounted on each one, but a five-clawed hand was still visible under each one. Its entire body seemed to be wrapped in some black cloth, leaving only a glowing red line along its face, like a visor for it to see through.

_No! It can't be! _

It was an enemy Kris thought had been destroyed. A vision, an image, or something else? Kris didn't have the time or energy to think.

Then, came another voice. A surprisingly familiar one.

"No! You will not harm them like you did to the others!"

_Zian? _Kris wondered, staring up at the Legendary Psychic Dragon. An ally from a previous adventure.

He was best described as a dragon whelp, with green scales covering most of his body and a red colored belly. His wings were also colored in green and red, matching the colors of his body. Zian was roughly the size of a human, although he walked on all fours.

Zian seemed unaffected by the storm as he flew full force into the dark dragon. In a bright flash of light, Zian was tossed roughly away.

Victorious, the dark, dragon-like figure raised its claw and pointed a finger straight at Kris. In its other hand, it was holding two crystals, one green and one pink. Then, it begun to fade and vanish completely.

"Deflagrate muri…tempi et intervallia…" Someone's voice chanted, although Kris couldn't be sure who's.

It was also at this moment the time unfroze, once sending Kris under the water…and into the darkness.

* * *

Coughing and groaning, Kris opened her eyes to find Nightslice standing over her.

"You all right?"

"Yeah…" Kris muttered, turning her gaze up. "Huh? Where are we?"

What she found herself looking up at a huge cavern. Numerous rocky projections emerged from the floors and ceiling. Water was dripping from numerous places. It looked like a naturally formed cave, one that had been untouched for thousands of years.

However, it was definitely not the raging sea Kris last remembered.

"Storm?" Jade cried, shaking the Charizard.

Kris realized his tail fire was almost out.

"No…" Jade said softly. "Please…no…"

Suddenly, Firestorm's tail burst into flames, the water hissing as it evaporated.

"Sorry Jade, you won't get rid of me that easily." He gasped.

All around, the others were pulling themselves to their feet as well. Nala, Riot, Hazuki and Yusia…all soaking wet.

"Are we…alive?" Nala wondered, looking around.

"Let me check." Firestorm stuck his flaming tail into Nightslice's back.

"Ow! Yargh! AARRGGHH!"

"He sure seems alive."

"Hey, did anyone see Alken?" Nala cut in.

"I thought I saw him and Abetos when we were all caught in that current." Hazuki said. "You guys remember right? The storm at sea? And we got swept overboard?"

"Did anyone else see Zian back then?" Firestorm asked. "It looked like he was fighting this dark shape."

"That shape…" Kris muttered. "Did it look like…Kaiser?"

Everyone snapped up at the mention of the dark Dragon God's name.

"We took care of him, didn't we?" Riot asked.

"Perhaps…or perhaps not…" Nightslice shook his head. "Something just felt very wrong with it. Chilled me to the bone."

He stood up to examine their surroundings.

"Like we're in a completely different place and…Zian!"

The entire group rushed over to the spot where Zian was sprawled across the floor in a puddle of water. Firestorm gently took the dragon in his arms and put his hand to his neck.

"He's breathing." The Charizard announced.

"Look at that!" Jade pointed to a long scar across the left side of Zian's chest, where his heart should be.

"We'll go find a way out of here." Kris indicated Nightslice and herself. "Make sure to take care of Zian, he's the only one who can tell us what the hell is going on here."

"Looks like the light is streaming in from up there." Nightslice pointed up a near vertical cliff that seemed like a dried out waterfall.

"Let's go."

Grabbing on to Kris, Nightslice sprang up the cliff, digging his one free claw and feet into the rocky surface to form handholds. It took a while, but he finally arrived at the top.

"That boulder seems to be blocking the entrance." Kris gestured.

The pair was walking over to the boulder when the ground suddenly shook. That was followed by a long and deep growl.

"What the?"

"Get down!" Nightslice rammed Kris to the ground as an energy blast flew past them, blowing up a pile of rocks nearby.

"That thing…it's alive!" Kris stared.

The 'boulder' stirred and begun moving. A pair of deep red eyes glowed as a head emerged. Arms, legs, wings and tail uncurled as a shape took form.

It was a gigantic, 30 foot dragon covered in gray rock-like scales. It stood on all fours, its limbs as thick as pillars. The Rock Dragon spread its wings and roared, lashing its tail about. The beast eyed them, saliva dripping from its jaws.

"Please tell me he's one of Zian's pals that we don't know about." Nightslice moaned.

The rock dragon charged.

"Guess not! Harrgghh!" Nightslice yelled, throwing off a Hyper Beam from his claws.

As powerful as the blast was, the dragon simply brushed it off. Nightslice threw two more beams before realizing it was hopeless.

"Incoming!" Kris warned.

The pair leapt in opposite directions and the dragon slammed its tail down. The shock created was so powerful that it sent the two flying into the walls. In agony, Kris pulled herself up. Seeing the beast going for Nightslice, she drew her sword and ran towards it.

The Rock Dragon simply swatted her away with a wing.

This filled Nightslice with rage and he attacked, slashing with his Metal Claw at the dragon's head. All he got for his efforts was another hard smack.

Meanwhile, the others below had heard the fighting and were trying to get up the cliff. However, they were hindered by all the rocks falling from the ceiling, thanks to all the shaking caused by the battle.

Nightslice groaned, and opened his eyes just in time to see the dragon's jaws closing over him.

* * *

**The Present… **

"RRRRAAARRGGHHHH!"

The surge of memories and visions had stopped, but leaving Nightslice more confused than he already was.

'His' new Steel Dragon body was still trashing about, screaming wildly.

_(What are you doing?!)_ He heard Kris from within 'their' body call out to him. _(Calm down!) _

_(It's not me!)_ Nightslice protested.

Kris herself was in quite a state of confusion. She was in somebody else's body for one thing. It was as if she were watching a movie, except she was seeing through the dragon's, Bahamut's, eyes.

She tried hard to focus and look within. In her mind, she 'saw' the image of herself standing inside a glowing orb of sliver light. Outside the orb, the walls seemed to be throbbing and pulsing, like…like a heart?!

_OK, wait, let's see…Nightslice and I merged into the form of this dragon right? Let's assume I form the heart, and then he forms the body, two essential components. _Kris thought. _But wait! Then, who's in control if Nightslice isn't? Where's the mind?! _

_(Kris! He's waking up!)_ Nightslice screamed in panic.

_(What? Who?!) _

_(The dragon! Bahamut! The dragon whose body we're in! And I don't think he's happy we're here…) _

"RRRRRRAAAGGGGHHH! W…WHAT?! WHAT'S INSIDE OF ME??"

There were a lot of things which Kris didn't understand this day.

However, one thing she definitely knew was that the last voice had belonged to neither herself nor Nightslice.

* * *

_Now, the legend evolves…_


	3. A Brave New World

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**A Brave New World**

By nightdragon0

"RRRRRRAAAGGGGHHH! W…WHAT?! WHAT'S INSIDE OF ME??"

Jade simply stood, staring at the victorious, yet unstable Dragon. It wasn't just him…everyone else was speechless.

A Dragon like that is certainly no common sight, but seeing two of your friends actually…well, meld together and change into that thing was unreal.

Jade was convinced that he'd had his good share of the unusual, however…

The Steel Dragon continued trashing about, roaring wildly. He was punching the walls and sending large pieces of rocks falling from the ceiling.

"Take cover!" Nala yelled.

The 4 humans and 2 Pokemon, carrying an unconscious Zian, sprinted in separate directions, hiding behind several large boulders.

"Jade, you have to do something!" Hazuki urged.

"What why me?!" Jade protested.

"Because, with Kris temporarily unavailable, you're in charge." Firestorm called from behind his boulder.

"You don't really mean that, do you?" Riot, who was next to the Charizard, whispered.

"Of course not! He's just the most expendable person we have here!"

"That's being mean...muurrgghhh!"

Firestorm clamped a claw over her snout and waved to Jade.

"We're rooting for ya!" Firestorm smiled with fake enthusiasm.

"Oh...fine." Jade muttered, biting his lip. Gathering his courage, the young man stepped out, facing the Steel Dragon. "Hey! Kris! Nightslice! Or whoever you are you big scaly metal head!"

Everyone else slapped their heads in disbelief.

All of a sudden, the Steel Dragon fell silent and stopped, staring straight into Jade's eyes. It terrified Jade so much that he could only stand there, completely petrified with fear.

"Fire..." The Steel Dragon hissed in a barely audible whisper. "Fire...Fire...Dragon...Lombadra!!"

"Fire Dragon?!" Jade staggered in confusion.

"YOU WON'T GET ME THIS TIME!!" The Steel Dragon roared, raising his arm-mounted blasters. "YOU WON'T!! I'LL KILL YOU FIRST!!"

"Hey wait..."

"Get down!" Firestorm charged and tackled Jade, taking him out of harm's way, barely avoiding being blasted into a huge crater in the floor.

"What...?!" The Steel Dragon actually looked shocked at what he'd just done. "WHAT...are you?!"

His last line had been directed towards Firestorm, and Riot's appearance caught his attention as well. He was glaring around as if he remembered the two of them, and yet was trying desperately to piece it together.

"Voices...in my head!! Get OUT OF ME!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!" The silver dragon dropped to his knees, clutching in head in mental anguish.

"Hey, try to calm down!" Nala encouraged. "We're not your enemies!"

"Enemies...what...what are you?!" He howled. "What am I?! Where AM I?? WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!! RRRAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!"

He began pounding on the sides again, sending everyone diving for cover, before running straight through a wall via a hole he smashed in it. The clear sky was visible through the opening and the Dragon leapt through, spreading his gray feather-like wings and soaring off before anyone could stop him.

The group waited until they were sure it was safe before gathering in the center of the cave. They ended up looking from all the destruction caused to the hole in the wall.

"Well, doesn't this just beat all?" Firestorm muttered dryly.

* * *

"Alken...please wake up!"

"Urgh..."

"Alken!"

"Huh?! Abetos?!" Alken shot up, hitting his head on a very low ceiling. "OW!"

"Thank god you're all right!" The Houndoom sighed, raising his front paws onto Alken's bed.

They were in a small room with a bed, a window and a small table nearby. The ceiling definitely hadn't been built for someone of Alken's height.

"Yeah, you too partner." He nodded. "After I fell into the middle of that storm and you jumped in after me...hey!"

Alken stared at the blind Houndoom.

"You're talking!"

"Of course, what else would you expect?" Abetos asked. "I may be blind, but I'm not mute."

"NO, I mean you're talking and I can understand you perfectly!" Alken explained. "Kris and the others can do that, but all of them are genetically part Pokemon. I've never been able to."

"Really?"

"Ask me something."

"OK, what's the square root of 5783?"

"Something easier!"

"Never mind, I'm convinced." Abetos nodded. "Something's really wrong here then. You're a relatively normal human being, and..."

"What happened to Kris and the others?" Alken cut in.

"They weren't with us when we were found. But..."

"Who found us? And where are we anyway?"

"This group of Growlithes found us washed up at the bank of some river." Abetos trailed off. "But...before I start giving you any location names, I think you should take a look outside the window and confirm what my other senses have been telling me."

THUMP!

"Urm...watch your head too." Abetos added in.

Rubbing his sore head, Alken had to bend down to look outside the window. However, the moment he did that, everything else was immediately forgotten as he stared in a mixture of shock, disbelief and awe.

Outside were the streets of a seemingly normal-looking city. Normal in Alken's point of view except that all the inhabitants walking about the streets were Pokemon of all different shapes and sizes.

And all the speech he could hear outside were 'English' words to him, not in the individual Pokemon's languages.

It may have been something out of a child's fantasy, but Alken was utterly dumbstruck.

"Tell me I'm dreaming..." He staggered.

"Wish I could partner, but then I would be lying." Abetos replied. "Somehow...we've ended up in one heck of..."

* * *

"...a strange world..." Firestorm whistled, unknowingly ending with the same phrase as Abetos.

Elsewhere, Jade and his group had decided waiting around the cavern would be of no help to anyone and had carefully made their way out. They'd gone down a small, rocky hill, which fortunately wasn't too steep, wandered through a forested area for a while, and had finally come to a town.

A town that, like Alken had discovered, was inhabited by only Pokemon.

"Erm...you guys have any ideas?" Hazuki uneasily shifted her feet while holding Yusia close to her.

"I'm sort of open to suggestions." Jade muttered, glancing nervously around.

Although they were at the edge of the town, some of the bystanders had begun to turn and glance in their direction.

"Perhaps we should leave." Nala suggested. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Zian needs help." Firestorm insisted, looking down at the unconscious Psychic Dragon in his arms. "But I think she's right. You guys hang back and I'll..."

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance." An Alakazam abruptly teleported in, startling the entire group.

Firestorm unintentionally threw Zian up into the air, but Nala managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

"I'm never gonna let you be my doctor." Jade whispered to the Charizard.

"I must apologize, please excuse my horrible manners." The Alakazam bowed. "I often forget that common folk are not used to me teleporting around. But tell me, my dear Charizard, are those human beings you have with you?"

"Well, duh!" Firestorm blurted out. "What else would this idiot be...urmph!"

Jade stamped on his foot and put a hand over his snout.

"Sorry, he hasn't got much to say for manners either." Jade continued calmly. "See, we're rather lost and were looking for directions when we stumbled upon this place."

"More human beings..." The Alakazam didn't seem to be paying attention to Jade's words as he gave Jade's arm a tug. "From another world...just like Cid..."

"Excuse me? Another world?" Nala questioned.

"I'm sorry, I should explain this more clearly to you. My name Epsilon, a researcher here." He introduced.

One by one, the members of the group returned the introductions.

"Do you think you could help our friend here too?" Hazuki asked, gesturing towards Zian.

"Hmmm...a Dragon, I see." Epsilon muttered, walking over and raising his hands above Zian's head. "His condition seems stable for now. He's in no danger, but I'll need to perform a more detailed analysis to be sure."

"You hardly seem surprised." Riot commented.

"Perhaps it would be better to come to my lab." He offered. "There is someone there who'd most definitely like to meet you. This way..."

He vanished in a flash of light, leaving the group standing there in a state of confusion. Epsilon then teleported back, scratching his head nervously.

"I'm terribly sorry, I forgot not everyone can teleport."

Everyone let off a long sigh.

"Not to worry people, gather round in a circle...good. Now, hold on!" The Alakazam snapped his fingers, and in another flash of light, the group had been brought from the street to within a huge library.

Unfortunately, not very smoothly as they ended up in various heaps and piles here and there.

"I'm very sorry." Epsilon bowed. "My skills at teleporting others are quite rusty."

"You could've told us that earlier." Jade moaned, rubbing his sore behind.

Nala placed Zian down on a set of cushions before joining her friends at large work desk. The Alakazam shoved some stacks of papers away to clear out some space on the desk.

"He should be here any minute now." Epsilon said.

Before anyone had a chance to ask, a side door swung open.

* * *

"Oh, Epsilon, it's you. And these are the visitors you'd been expecting?" A voice asked. "And, oh my, they really are human!"

"Friends, I'm pleased to introduce Dr. Cid." Epsilon gestured towards the old man approaching them.

Dr. Cid was a white-bearded man around his 70s. He was mostly bald on top of his head and wore black, thick rimmed glasses. The old man was rather plump and could have easily passed himself off as Santa Claus.

He was dressed in a completely white suit and hobbled towards the party excitedly on his walking stick.

"I haven't met another human in more than 40 years." The doctor smiled, shaking all their hands more than once. "It's so nice to meet you all."

"Yes, well, not to sound disrespectful doctor, but we happen to need some answers." Nala spoke. "And our friend..."

"Don't worry, I'll take a look at him." Epsilon offered, gently picking Zian up and carrying him to the next room.

"You shall have them, to the best of my abilities, my child. But first, do you mind if I ask you how you ended up here?" Cid asked, sitting down at his desk.

"Erm, no problem." Jade nodded, looking to his friends.

He told the researcher a little about their lives (with several small details omitted). Jade went on to describe their failed rescue attempt at sea and their earlier encounter with the Rock Dragon, plus Kris' and Nightslice as well.

"I see, the prophecies have proven true after all." The doctor remarked after listening intently. "I'm afraid that I know nothing about any of your missing comrades, however, I'm sure you want to know about this world in return."

"Indeed, that would certainly be much appreciated." Riot said.

"In ancient times long forgotten, they say that both worlds were one. It was the time that 16 Legendary Dragons once battled across these lands."

"And he was one of them." Firestorm said to himself, giving a quick glance over to Zian.

"8 fought alongside the Dragon God Harasalt, the side of good. 8 served Kaiser, the side of evil." Cid continued his story. "Destruction reigned as the battle lasted for years and many fell by the wayside, never to rise again."

"We've heard that story, more than once actually." Hazuki commented.

"However, I'm certain you haven't heard this part." Dr. Cid assured. "In the final clash of the two Dragon Gods, the energy generated was so tremendous that it tore a rift in the very fabric of time and space."

"And this, 'other' world was created?" Jade asked.

"Yes, and some of the ancient ancestors of the Pokemon you see today were literally sucked into this other world, developing and growing, without the interference of humans, until they are as you see them today."

"But...you're here Dr. Cid." Young Yusia piped in.

"Ah, but I was from your world originally." The old man closed his eyes. "About 40 years ago, I went on an expedition to explore a volcanic island, in the Orange region, that had seemingly risen during a huge earthquake."

"Guys, if I remember correctly, that island wasn't too far away from our rescue attempt at sea." Jade told the rest of his group, before nodding to Cid to signal him to continue.

"As I descended into the volcano's opening, a storm suddenly brewed up and I was separated from my team. I had an unfortunate fall, and could only remember plunging into some bright light. Next thing I knew, Epsilon had found me and brought me back here, to his place. I was very confused at first, but Epsilon gave me his support. I never found a way back, so I've stayed here all these years, studying the ancient secrets and legends of this world."

"Must've been tough." Nala remarked. "Being stuck in a world where you're the only human in existence."

"It wasn't too hard after a while." The doctor sighed. "This world is intriguing too. Not only Pokemon live here, but Dragons and other beings from our wildest fantasies. The 'Dragon Realms' as I call it. Recently however..."

"Urgh..."

"Zian!" Hazuki gasped. "He's awake!"

Jade rushed into the adjacent room to find the Dragon Whelp lying on a bed.

"Zian, are you all right?"

"Barely..." Zian breathed.

"There are about a thousand questions I want to ask you right now." Jade told him. "But you're in bad shape and need some rest."

"Wow, Jade...you really mean that?" Zian looked up weakly.

"Actually, I'm just saying it because we're the good guys." Jade snapped, grabbing Zian by the neck. "NOW TELL US WHAT THE F#&# IS GOING ON HERE BEFORE I SQUEEZE THE STUFFING OUT OF YA, YOU LITTLE PIP-SQUEEK OF A DRAGON!!"

(Everyone else sweatdrops as Jade starts strangling the human-sized Dragon.)

"Gurgh...can't breathe..."

"Erm...Jade, cut it out..." Firestorm muttered nervously waving his claws. He, more than anyone else present, knew Zian was a pretty powerful psychic. However, it surprised him that Zian hadn't used his powers to throw Jade off him.

"The poor sap can't talk if he can't breathe." Riot interrupted.

"Yeah, sorry." Jade nodded, releasing his grasp. "I got a little carried away."

"Even in this world...you're still in great danger..." Zian spoke in panicked gasps. He kept trying to get up, but it seemed as if nothing below his neck would move. "No...I'm..."

"I'm afraid it's bad." Epsilon said grimly. "He's suffered some bad neck injuries, and...urm..."

"Just spill it." Zian gritted his teeth, as if he already knew.

"You're paralyzed...from the neck down..."

For a while, everyone could only stare in shock. They were then forced to cover their ears when Zian let off a long howl of despair.

"Damn it! Why didn't he just kill me?!" He screamed.

"Who?" Firestorm asked. "More importantly, what happened?"

"Zian, come to your senses and tell us!" Hazuki urged.

"I failed! I let my comrades down..." Zian continue moaning, not taking heed of anyone else. "WHY?! WHY ME?? RRRAARRGGHHH!!"

* * *

Kris was definitely more freaked out than anything else right now.

Bahamut had pretty much gone berserk, blasting at the others before fleeing. Not only that, any attempts to talk to him had only resulted in further contributing to his madness.

It was one thing not being able to control your own body, but a whole other being stuck in someone else's body and also not being able to control that.

Finally, the Steel Dragon crash landed amidst a sea of trees, exhausted. Dazed, he stumbled over to a nearby river and dropped to his knees.

(Seems that he's calmed down.) Nightslice's voice spoke. (I think that if we direct our thoughts at each other, we won't hear us.)

Bahamut didn't seem to react to that and Kris assumed it was safe to reply.

(Yeah, but that won't solve our immediate problem.) She noted. (I can't do anything to control him, and it seems like neither can you.)

(So, our situation now is that that Spirit Crystal merged us into the form of this Dragon here. Only thing is that he so happens to have a mind of his own and our minds are trapped inside him.)

(That about sums it up.) She sighed. (Speaking of that, how'd you know it was called a Spirit Crystal?)

(I have no idea. The name just snapped into my mind.) Nightslice told her. (Along with a whole lot of other things I can't figure out.)

(By any chance the Heart, Body and Mind theory that came to me?)

"Stop talking as if I'm not here!!" Bahamut suddenly roared.

(You can hear us?!) Kris and Nightslice both stuttered.

"I don't care! I want some answers now!! Tell me what the hell the two of you are doing in my head before I..." Bahamut obviously had something in mind, but he stopped short realizing he couldn't exactly threaten someone he couldn't see.

(Dammit, will you relax?) Nightslice tried. (We're just as confused as you are, so let's try to work this out in a reasonable manner.)

"I am the Dragon of Steel! I do not need to deal with the likes of you lesser beings!"

(Hey, you wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for us!) Kris yelled angrily.

(Hold on, are you a Legendary Dragon by any chance?) Nightslice cut in. (One of the 16 Dragons that battled in the great wars of Harasalt and Kaiser those thousands of years ago.)

"Thousands of years ago?!" Bahamut gasped. "What time is this?! Is this my afterlife or have I been brought into the future?!"

(I somehow think it's a weird combination of both.) Nightslice replied. (So...you weren't one of the Dragons who survived, were you?)

Bahamut was silent for a long while before he finally answered.

"No...it was a cheap shot." He growled. "I can only remember his face, and his flames...flames...fire...Grrrrrrr!!"

Bahamut glanced towards the sky as a huge shadow temporarily blocked out the light. A large Wyvern like Dragon flew above them, its red scales gleaming in the sunlight. It was a two legged creature with a long, spiked tail and its upper arms joined into its leathery wings.

"Pyro Dragon..." Bahamut snarled. "The enemy..."

(Hey, things have changed in those thousands of years you've been dead!) Kris called out. (Wait, don't start this again!!)

Too late, Bahamut had already taken off in pursuit of his self-proclaimed adversary.

And there was unfortunately nothing Kris and Nightslice could do about it.

* * *

SLAP!

Everyone, including Zian himself stared as Hazuki withdrew her hand.

"I'm really sorry about that." She said sternly. "But it's not just your life that's on the line here. We're all in a crisis and you may be the only one with the information to get us out of it."

"Yeah, we're all in this together. Just tell us who did this to you." Firestorm growled, cracking his knuckles. "And I'll show him what its like to mess with my friends!"

Zian took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.

"I apologize. It's been so long since the last time that I actually feared for my life. But he...it...I don't know...just came out of nowhere."

"Who?" Jade asked.

"I don't even know..." Zian cringed, genuine fear showing in the green dragon's eyes. "You all saw it, didn't you? The storm at sea...and my failed battle."

"The humanoid dragon thing?!" Nala gasped.

"It was something not of the world my brethren and I watched over for so long." Zian continued. "Even I never saw it coming. Somehow, it managed to gather up the Spirit Crystals and came after those of us still living."

"You're not making any sense." Jade muttered.

"OK, the Spirit Crystals are basically the source of a Legendary Dragon's powers. The crystals remain even if the body should perish, so there were 9 crystals belonging to the Dragons who died in the wars or during your battle against Kaiser, scattered throughout our world, Earth Realm."

"And we know that the 7 of you remaining became the hidden guardians of our world, the Earth Realm." Jade nodded.

"But then **it** came. I didn't even sense it had located the other 9 crystals until I saw it holding them. Even with 7 on 1...we failed. I...can still hear their dying screams...but...I...I...ran away..." Zian broke down in tears.

Hazuki leaned down and gently took his head in her arms.

"Then, it came after you. My conscience would not allow me to turn my back again, and I intervened. I've never been beaten so badly in my life, but I made one desperate attempt to draw the enemy back into whatever world it had come from..."

"That chant, right?" Nala wondered.

"I was half conscious, so I don't exactly know what I did. But apparently, and it worked...with a heavy price..."

"Can't you heal yourself?" Jade asked.

"I don't think he can." Firestorm carefully ran his claw along the large scar at Zian's chest. "He ripped your Spirit Crystal out, didn't he?"

"And with it...my powers are gone...and I'm..." Zian sobbed. "I SHOULD BE DEAD LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!! I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE!!"

Despite Zian only being able to move his head and part of his neck, everyone reached out to stop him from sinking his fangs into his own throat.

"So what? Die?! That'll solve all the problems?!" Firestorm yelled furiously. "That'll thank your friends for what they did?! What would they think of you now, wallowing in self-pity?!"

Firestorm banged a fist on the table, causing everyone who could to back off several feet. Zian continued staring at the Charizard with mixed emotions in his teary eyes.

That moment of silence was broken by a deafening explosion outside.

"It's a Pyro Dragon!" Epsilon exclaimed, teleporting to the window. "And it's attacking the town!"

"Why is it doing that?" Hazuki stared outside at the burning village below. "Hidoi..." (Awful)

"There has been great unrest recently." Epsilon told them. "Inter species wars have broken out all over the place. But the inhabitants here are neutral to all sides!"

"That was what I was going to mention." Cid continued. "All the different species used to live in peace. I don't know what started the fighting, however now no one wants to stop."

"This is too much!" Jade yelled, furiously kicking the wall. "Storm, let's go!"

"Understood!"

"Let me..." Riot began when Firestorm held up his hand.

"Riot, you need to stay here and look after the others." The Charizard growled.

"But..."

"Riot, don't argue right now. Please."

Reluctantly, the Aerodactyl nodded.

* * *

The lab was located at a reasonably safe distance up a hill, but it didn't take long for Firestorm to fly down to the village below.

Now that they were closer, both could see that their opponent was a red Wyvern easily the size of an 18 Wheeler tanker. Whatever Pokemon he could see below were all running for their lives, presumably not being much of the fighting types.

Firestorm pelted their opponent with a series of fireballs and was barely able to swerve away as it retaliated with a huge burst of flames.

"These are not good odds!" Jade cried as the Pyro Dragon turned its attention from attacking the town to them instead.

"Ya think?!" Firestorm snarled, attempting to duck in between a couple of buildings, which the Dragon simply tore down.

"Get out of the way!" Jade yelled upon seeing the Dragon rearing up for another blast.

Firestorm flew downwards and dove around the corner, just in time to avoid being toasted like the rest of the street. The pair tensed themselves for a follow up attack, but it never came.

Some new explosions and screeches of pain made them peek out from under their cover.

"It's that Steel Dragon from before." Jade stared.

Although smaller, the silvery shape seemed to have the upper hand, buzzing round the Pyro Dragon and throwing off energy blasts from the cannons mounted to his arms. Of course, the Pyro Dragon wasn't a sitting duck and returned fire furiously. One of the stray blasts happened to blow a nearby wall apart, sending tons of bricks falling.

"Look out!" Firestorm tackled Jade, throwing them both through a side door into what seemed like a shrine.

A row of torches lined either side of the carpeted floor which led up to the altar. Around it were several large golden bowls with flames burning in them.

"Shrine of Fire." Jade read a sign hanging from the ceiling.

"This is no time to be sightseeing." Firestorm growled. "We should look for a rear exit before..."

BOOM!!

An explosion blew out the East wall, sending the torches toppling like dominos and setting the entire place ablaze in a matter of seconds.

"Oh CRAP!" Jade cursed, finding himself pinned against the altar, surrounded by a circle of flames. "Storm?! Where are you?!"

Shielding his eyes, he could make out the Charizard's limp form sprawled across the floor.

"Hey! This is not a time to be out cold!!" Jade screamed. "Storm!"

A beam fell from the ceiling, startling Jade. He stumbled backwards, tripping over the altar and sending its contents flying. Jade landed inches away from the circle of fire, feeling the searing heat of the deadly flames at his back.

However, something landed beside him as well. It was an elongated crystal glowing in the reddish orange of the flames. It emitted a bright light as Jade took the crystal in his hand.

Suddenly, the ceiling above him gave way. Jade panicked and closed his eyes as the burning chunks hurled towards him.

"RRRaarrrrgghhhh!" Firestorm had leapt to his aid, spreading his wings to shield Jade from the debris.

"Storm!" Jade cried, seeing the blood on his friend's back. "Guargh!"

Firestorm collapsed, pinning Jade down as well.

Jade's fist automatically clenched. As he did so, the crystal began to glow ever brighter.

_Looks like you need me again, Jade. _

Jade blinked, unsure if he'd actually heard to voice or not.

_Don't tell me you're forgotten me already? Remember how I told you I was lying in wait within your body? _

"I know I definitely heard that." Firestorm muttered weakly.

_Hmmm...You even have my Spirit Crystal. Tell you guys what, if you will become my body, I'll get you out of this. Deal? _

"You...you're the Legendary Dragon of Fire!" Jade realized.

_Hurry up, you haven't got much time! _

"Let's do this Jade..." Firestorm nodded weakly.

"Right...with you..." Jade managed, holding up the crystal.

"EXECUTE...DRAGON MELD!!"


	4. Enter Lombadra! Clash of Fire & Steel!

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Enter Lombadra! Clash of Fire & Steel!**

By nightdragon0

"Damn it! I should be out there!" Riot cursed, glancing out the window.

"I know..." Nala muttered, walking up to her partner's side. "I just hope Jade and Firestorm are all right."

The huge Pyro Dragon had suddenly been attacked by a smaller shape. Now, both had dropped out of their sight, down to the street level of the town. Hell knew what was going on down there, but judging from all the flames, nothing good.

"Hmmm..." Hazuki turned from watching the scene outside to Yusia. "Is this what you saw in your dream?"

"I don't really remember. It was like...everything was so blurry." The young girl replied. "But it was rather scary."

"You said something about a 'New Adventure', right?"

"That's what the magical voice in my dream told me."

"Perhaps she is correct in a way." Riot said, flexing her wings. "Perhaps our old group's coincidental meeting was scripted all along."

"You think we were meant to come to this, Dragon Realm?" Nala asked.

"That's my theory, but..." Riot pointed her nose at Zian.

The psychic Dragon remained in his miserable state, staring aimlessly at the floor. As was as if he didn't notice what was going on outside.

"Yeah, I really feel sorry for him." Nala lowered her voice to a whisper.

"It's not just that." Riot shook her head. "Just think, 7 Legendary Dragons, who secretly guarded Earth Realm for centuries, were taken out all at once by this new, unknown enemy. And the only survivor is severely crippled."

"And you're wondering that if they couldn't beat him, how can we?"

"Exactly."

"Look! I think I see something!" Dr. Cid pointed, adjusting his glasses at the same time.

Rising from the ground below was a pillar of brilliant red light.

"That might be the answer to your question Riot." Hazuki commented.

Yusia ran up beside her sister and tiptoed to get a better view of the transpiring events.

* * *

"EXECUTE...DRAGON MELD!!"

The voice still echoed in his mind, although Jade wasn't sure if that had been his own voice or not. Glancing around, he realized he was still surrounded by flames. No, in fact, the fires were everywhere, as if he were standing in the midst of a blazing inferno and not feeling even the slightest burn.

Feeling something, Jade turned his right hand to find the Kanji Symbol for fire, 'Honno', engraved on the back of his fist. Looking up, he then saw Firestorm with the same symbol in the center of his chest, in-between his ribcage.

Behind the Charizard, a pair of red eyes glowed fiercely. Jade and Firestorm both knew what they had to do.

In his mind, Jade saw the background of a volcanic eruption, with flames everywhere. Firestorm walked up to him and spread his wings. The flames then came towards them, forming a pillar of flames around the two.

From that, a new shape began to form.

It was about 5 feet tall, primarily red but still humanoid in shape and standing upright. His head was elongated, much like a Velociraptor, with white teeth to match. Four horns decorated his head, two at back and two above eyes, all pointed backwards.

His eyes glowed with a reddish color that completely hid the pupils.

Strong white arms formed, with five fingered claws. Reddish shoulder pads with 'claw' patterns sticking out of them appeared. The body and waist were red, but center of chest was colored white and decorated with kanji for fire, honno.

The legs white again until knee, where they became covered in red shin pads. He had three toed feet, also in white and a long and thin red tail with a flaming end, like a Charizard's.

On his back were pair of flexible 'spikes', resembling longer version of those on a Scizor. From these, a pair of blazing wings appeared, made completely out of fire.

"Fire's Reign... Lombadra!"

With that, the new Dragon burst out from beneath the rubble, flashing his flaming wings proudly.

(OK, this is weird...) Jade muttered. (Storm? You in here or something?!)

(Unfortunately.) The Charizard's voice growled. (Damn, just what is this? I can't even feel my own body!!)

"We had a deal, remember?"

(Hey, you're...) Jade stuttered.

"Lombadra, the Legendary Dragon of Fire. Been a while since I've been alive, but the feel is great!"

(Well, watch out!) Firestorm yelled.

Lombadra calmly stepped aside as a huge piece of debris crashed into the spot he'd previously been standing on.

"Hmmm..." Lombadra thoughtfully glanced toward the sky. "Wonder which Dragon I should be helping?"

(A couple of our friends somehow merged into the smaller one, just like us.) Jade told him. (How about them or him or...I dunno.)

"Fine, I get the picture." Lombadra nodded, spreading his wings of fire.

The smaller Steel Dragon was currently using his wings to shield himself from a fiery breath attack. With a fierce roar, Lombadra rocketed upwards and rammed his shoulder into the Pyro Dragon's face, sending it spinning in mid-air.

"Hey, you all right?" Lombadra called.

The dazed Steel Dragon didn't answer, but dropped down to a nearby rooftop. He had his eyes closed and was clutching his chest in pain.

The Wyvern-like Pyro Dragon suddenly attacked, lashing out with its tail and throwing Lombadra headfirst into a building.

"OW! OK buddy, no one gets away with doing that to me!!" Lombadra roared, leaping up, opening his jaws and unleashing a huge Flamethrower attack.

The Pyro Dragon did the same, flames meeting in an intense struggle.

"Uurrghh!" Lombadra groaned, with his mouth still wide open.

(He's too strong! Pull away!) Firestorm's voice yelled.

Lombadra executed a mid-air roll, taking him out of harm's way as the fire charred another building.

"What the hell?! It can't possibly be this strong?!"

(Better not underestimate it.) Jade warned.

"Yeah..." Lombadra flew up as the Pyro Dragon lunged for him, missing by inches. "But don't underestimate me either!!"

Putting his claws together, Lombadra sent off two Fire Blasts followed by a multicolored Psybeam. His opponent roared in pain, hitting the ground hard.

"Let's end this! Overdrive time!" Lombadra unleashed a column of flames from his body, shrouding himself in them. He began spinning rapidly, forming the flames into a tornado.

"Salamander Breaker!"

The Pyro Dragon got up just in time to see Lombadra drive his clawed foot straight into its chest. The larger Dragon let off one final howl before exploding in a ball of flames.

Lombadra stood watching his opponent's demise, then turned his back on the scene and did a 'Zero-style' thumbs-up over his shoulder. (As in Zero from Rockman X)

* * *

(Bahamut?) Kris tried.

"Shut up."

(Fine, be that way! I was only trying to help.)

"Grrr...you're not the one who's got ashes in his eyes." Bahamut coughed.

(If you'd at least tried to listen to what I was saying about not charging headfirst into the flames, it might not have ended up with that other guy saving your butt.) Nightslice muttered.

(Kris! Nightslice! Any of you in there?!) A sudden voice interrupted.

(Jade?! How...) Kris started.

(Listen, Jade and I are sort of inside the Dragon that just bailed you guys out of the frying pan.) Came another voice.

"Damn, more voices in my head. I'm gonna lose my mind if this keeps up."

"You should be able to live with it." This voice was different, an actual spoken voice. "I'm in the same situation as you, through I can't exactly explain how everything works. By the way, you all right there, pal?"

_Finally, someone who at least knows something. _Bahamut thought. _But why...why does he sound so familiar...? _

Bahamut was facing the ground and was still blinking his eyes, but he could hear footsteps approaching from behind.

"Grrr..."

"Hey, take it easy. I know it's not a nice thought owing 'one', but better than being dead, right? Rather, ending up dead again in our case."

Bahamut felt a claw on his right shoulder and lowered his wings folding them back carefully.

"I suppose that's..." Bahamut began, turning his head around.

For the first time, Bahamut made eye contact with the Dragon. At the same time, the Dragon just stared straight back at him.

(Erm, guys...what's wrong?) Jade asked nervously.

The two Dragons just kept their gazes locked on one another, as if contemplating something far beyond belief.

Then, all at once, both jabbed their fingers at each other and blurted out a single word.

"**YOU**...!!"

* * *

"But Jade told us to wait in the lab." Hazuki yelled over the winds.

"That was before that huge wyvern got blown to smithereens!" Nala called back, grasping onto the horns at the back of Riot's head.

"Jeez, this place looks like a war zone." Riot muttered as they entered the deserted town.

"Jade! Firestorm! Any of you there?!" Nala shouted, dismounting.

"These look like the remains of that large one." Hazuki said, bending over and touching a charred bone. She suddenly gasped, stumbling backwards.

"What's wrong?" Nala asked.

"I was stepping on a puddle of blood." Hazuki replied. "I hope this isn't..."

"Please don't think that way."

All of a sudden, the sound of an explosion caused all three to look up. The scene was barely visible from their position, but it was definitely a battle.

* * *

Yusia leaned against the window ledge, tiptoeing to get a better view. Unfortunately, all she could see were bright flashes every now and then.

"Do you see this kind of thing often, Dr. Cid?" She turned and asked.

"I've seen all sorts of fights and battles." The bearded man replied. "But, something feels strangely different about this one."

"Sometimes, I see these in my dreams." Yusia said softly. "It's the Dragons...who are waking up again..."

No one was facing Zian, but at those words his head suddenly snapped up. If there was someone who'd get those kinds of Dragon visions, it would've generally been himself.

_Waking up? _He thought. _As in, reviving?_

Somehow, he felt oddly drawn towards the little girl. If he still had his powers, he would've probed her, just a little. However, this time it was his own gut feeling telling him that there was something special about her.

Not being able to do anything about his curiosity now, he turned back towards the window.

_Legendary Dragons...? _Zian wondered, glancing out towards the flashes in the sky.

* * *

"Grrr...show some courage and face me!!" Bahamut roared, furious that Lombadra had just dodged an energy burst from his arm-mounted blasters.

"Standing in the middle of those is **suicide**, not courage." Lombadra replied. "I'll give you credit for that, but that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!"

"Don't mock me b#&tard!" Bahamut shouted. "I shouldn't have let my guard down!"

"Ungrateful snob! Still...If I'd known that was you, I would've let the Pyro Dragon charbroil you!"

"SHUT UP AND DIE!!" Bahamut lunged for the Fire Dragon, the two clashing in a fierce claw battle.

(Hey! What are you two fighting each other for?!) Kris yelled desperately. (Stop it!!)

Unfortunately she, like her friends, was being completely ignored by the Dragons they were 'within'.

(Can't you get that crazy Dragon of yours to cut it out?!) Firestorm yelled.

(Have you tired stopping yours?!) Nightslice called back.

(Guys, this would be very funny.) Jade cut in. (If not for the small fact that this is gonna get US KILLED!!)

(Shut up! You're not helping either Jade!) Kris growled.

Oblivious to the 'inner conflict', the two Dragons continued trading blows. Bahamut blocked two punches from Lombadra and swung his tail, catching his opponent at the side of the head.

Lombadra spun in mid-air before up-righting himself and charging right back. The two locked fore claws and went forehead to forehead, staring each other in the eye.

"I've waited an eternity to have my revenge!!" Bahamut snarled.

"Too bad you're gonna be waiting **till** the end of eternity!!"

"Big words, but they're still just words!"

"Then let's see some action!" Lombadra kneed Bahamut in the chest.

The Steel Dragon responded by releasing his grasp and head butting Lombadra in the face. Lombadra wiped his bleeding jaw with the back of his fist and unleashed a torrent of flames. Undaunted, Bahamut burst through them and grabbed the Fire Dragon around the neck.

Lombadra jabbed his foe in the eyes, forcing Bahamut to let go. The faster Dragon was suddenly at Bahamut's side, with his arm held in a 'lock' position, twisting it around sideways.

Screaming in both pain and fury, Bahamut made a last ditch attempt, lashing out wildly with his tail. The blow struck Lombadra at the back of his head, sending him spinning forward.

"This is the end!" Bahamut roared, putting his arm blasters together. "Mega Flare!"

"NNOOO!!" Riot was suddenly on the scene. She rammed Bahamut's chest at full speed, knocking his ultimate attack off course.

The laser burst exploded just to Lombadra's right, sending the Fire Dragon plunging towards the ground.

(Jade! Storm!) Kris cried.

"Damn you!" Bahamut swung a fist and knocked Riot out, sending her spinning to the ground as well.

(Riot!) Nightslice gasped. (What do you think you're doing?! This has gone far enough!)

"SILENCE!!" Bahamut ordered. "I'll deal with you once I'm done with him!"

Altering his direction, the fuming Steel Dragon moved into a steep dive, relentlessly seeking out his targeted prey.

* * *

"Riot! Riot, are you OK?! Please wake up!" Nala desperately shook her partner's side.

"I'll...live..." The Aerodactly panted.

The girls had run out into a forest, where Riot had landed. Fortunately, several tree branches had helped to lessen the impact of her fall. The two Dragons were somewhere deeper in the forest, close to a river, as the sounds of their fighting were still audible.

Hazuki was standing by the side, staring in disbelief when her cell phone rang.

"Sis, it's me." Yusia said. "Dr. Cid got our phones working with some computer of his."

"That's about the only piece of good news we're heard so far." Hazuki replied.

"Sis, about the two Dragons fighting, Kris, Jade, Firestorm and Nightslice are in them."

"We've sort of figured that out..." Hazuki nodded.

There was some shouting on the other side. Briefly, something along the lines of 'give me the phone' and 'hold it near me' was heard, but it was Zian's voice that continued.

"Listen carefully." He explained. "Your friends may be inside those Dragons, but they're not in control of them. The Dragons have minds of their own."

"Would you care to elaborate?" Hazuki asked.

"Yusia tells me Kris was holding a crystal before she and Nightslice merged into the Dragon. It was most likely a Spirit Crystal. You remember me talking about those earlier on, right?"

"Yes..."

"Besides just being the source of our powers, they also interact greatly with our thoughts. Essentially, they are our essence. They share our thoughts, our emotions and our memories. Even in death, it's like part of our spirit remains within the crystal, but it's a theory I've never been able to prove."

"Then, what happened to our friends?"

"Remember when I fought the shadowy creature that attacked us? I was channeling what powers I had left to tear the boundaries between worlds apart. It may have been no more than a split second, but I might've stunned the creature and I suspect he dropped some of the Spirit Crystals. Being thrown through a time/space void like that would certainly supercharge them."

"Charge them?"

"Yes, and the humans seem to have the power to unleash that charge, also awakening the essence of the Dragon within. But a human alone might not have been able to take all that raw energy, which is why Nightslice and Firestorm were drawn in as well to help contain it. They become the heart and body, if you'd call it that. However..."

"The ancient Dragon's mind still exists, and he controls the whole thing." Hazuki gasped.

"Not just any Dragon...a Legendary Dragon. My brethren who died in the Great Wars."

"But what happens if the Legendary Dragons kill each other?"

"Then those within will most likely die too..."

"Zian, you have to tell me how to stop those two from fighting!" Hazuki cried frantically.

"I...I...I don't know..."

Clenching her fist, Hazuki started at the ground. She just felt so helpless.

"Hey kid! Are you there?"

Without answering, Hazuki dropped the phone and sprinted away.

"Hey! Don't go there! The Dragons are still fighting!" Nala warned as her blue haired friend dashed past her. "Hazuki!"

* * *

"You're finished!" Bahamut roared, diving towards the crumpled form beneath.

At the last instant, Lombadra rolled away, sending Bahamut into a large puddle of mud.

"Didn't think you had me that easily, did you?"

"Grrr...rrrrarrrrrggghhhh!!" Bahamut opened his jaws and released a furious Dragon Breath attack.

Lombadra threw off a Fire Blast from his claws, the two attacks canceling out each other, but with much damage to the surroundings. However, Bahamut was already moving, his tail flashing as it hardened even more.

Lombadra rolled under the Iron tail move and slammed Bahamut's back, throwing him forward.

(Dammit! That hurts!) Nightslice shouted.

(Hey, I'm in more pain thanks to that stupid Dragon of yours!) Firestorm retorted.

(Our stupid Dragon?!) Kris yelled angrily. (What about yours?!)

(You started attacking us first!!) Jade growled.

(Will you shut up?!) Kris argued. (It's not out fault!)

(It's not mine either!)

Needless to say, tension was building up, both on the outside and within as the enemies turned to face each other. Panting wildly, both gathered up their remaining fighting powers for the finale.

The next second, both sprang into action, fangs prepared and claws at hand.

"YAMERU!!" (Stop it!)

Suddenly, Hazuki ran between their paths, arms outstretched.

All of the Dragons, humans and Pokemon gasped in shock. However, there was no time to stop their attacks.

Hazuki closed her eyes and cringed, expecting the worst. Her heart was pounding wildly, but when her thoughts didn't abruptly end, she risked a peek and found herself even more amazed at what she saw.

Both Lombadra and Bahamut had one hand and one knee protecting her from different angles. Each one had their one free hand locked up with the other's. It was as if both had the same idea, trying to shield her whilst deflecting the blow of his opponent.

Slowly, the Dragons opened their eyes and immediately pulled back, uneasily standing back up and staring from each other to Hazuki.

(Hazuki! Are you all right?) Kris asked with concern.

The stunned girl could only nod. Otherwise, she seemed physically unharmed.

(Thank god...) Jade muttered.

On the other hand, Lombadra and Bahamut were still glaring intently into each other's eyes. A long, uneasy silence broke out and for a while, it seemed as if they two were about to start fighting again at any time.

"Why did you do it?" Lombadra broke the tension. "Why did you want to save the girl?"

"I...I don't know." The Steel Dragon shook his head. "I just felt it was...the right thing to do."

"You belong to the evil side! Why should you care?"

"Those sides don't exist anymore." Nala stumbled onto the scene, supporting Riot with her shoulder. "There may still be good and evil in this world, but you're not on opposing sides of it."

(The Great Wars you fought in are long over.) Firestorm added in. (It's a new time now, and things have changed.)

(But, I take it you two know each other pretty well.) Kris commented.

"Let me ask you, human." Bahamut growled. "You'd certainly feel the same way I did if you were standing next to the bloke who killed you in the PAST!"

(OK...point taken.) Jade muttered.

"That feeling is mutual." Lombadra responded. "Especially since YOU decapitated ME!!"

"So, I did hit you with that last attack." Bahamut chuckled. "Serves you right for roasting me alive."

"Grrrrrr!!"

"Whoa, time out!" Nala stepped between the two, waving her hands.

* * *

"Guys, I did manage to get some information of our current...situation." Hazuki stepped up.

The two Legendary Dragons both stood with their arms folded, constantly glaring at each other while they listened to Hazuki relating Zian's theory.

"Seems there's a greater evil now." Lombadra commented.

(Perhaps that's the reason you were brought back.) Nightslice suggested. (It's probably also the reason we were able to activate those Spirit Crystals too.)

"I suppose..." Bahamut and Lombadra nodded simultaneously, and then stared at each other in surprise.

(Well, like it or not, we're a team now.) Firestorm spoke.

(So try to cut us some slack, Lombadra?) Jade continued.

"Will do." Lombadra smiled.

(Bahamut, same goes for you, OK?) Kris told him. (Try to co-operate with Nightslice and me, and it'll be easier on all of us.)

"Humph...seems I have no choice." Bahamut growled. "But, it might not be all bad. I've got a nice new body and all now."

The Steel Dragon vainly spread his wings, snapped his tail around and ran his claws over his arm blasters. Lombadra too, seemed to be doing the same.

(Huh? What?) Jade asked, confused.

"We're physically different from what we remember ourselves as all those years ago." Lombadra explained. "If you think about it, we didn't have guns and metallic armor attached to our bodies back then."

"It's like they're a perfect fusion of living, organic matter and machine." Riot commented. "Most fascinating indeed."

(By the way, this also means the two of you are going to have to work together instead of fight each other.) Kris cut in.

"WHAT?!" The Legendary Dragons defiantly stared at each other before turned their backs.

(Hey, come on you two.) Firestorm urged. (I know Fire and Steel aren't a good mix, but come on, Nightslice and I get along.)

"All right." Lombadra reluctantly sighed. "If I must be the first to submit, so be it. However...you're pretty much all right for someone of your caliber."

"I suppose you're not too bad yourself." Bahamut faced him. "I guess I could tolerate you, flame-face."

"I have to agree then." Lombadra muttered.

The two then stared at each other again.

"Humph!" Both snapped, turning their backs on each other.

With a sneaky grin, Lombadra stuck his Charizard-like flaming tail into Bahamut's back.

"Gguuarrghhhh!!" Yelling uncontrollably, the Steel Dragon drove straight into the nearby river.

(Everyone else sweatdrops as Lombadra bursts out laughing.)

"WHY YOU!!" Bahamut sprang out, rolled over Lombadra and tossed him into the river instead.

"HELP ME! HELP!!" The fire Dragon lost his cool instantly. "I CAN'T SWIM!! MY TAIL FLAME'S GONNA GO OUT!! HEELLLPPP!! HEY!! WHY ARE YOU HUMANS JUST STANDING THERE STARING?? HELLPP!!"

"Yo, hot-head, try standing up." Bahamut said calmly.

Lombadra did that...and the water only came up to his waist level.

"Something wrong, fire-butt?" Bahamut teased. "You look a lot redder than usual."

"Grrrrrrr...!!"

(Great, I'm trapped inside an IDIOT!!) Jade groaned.

"HEY, what's that supposed to mean?!"

(HEY, what's that supposed to mean?!)

The next line came from both Lombadra and Firestorm.

(Erm...heheh...nothing.) Jade replied nervously. (Cause, technically I am inside both of you. But it's interesting how both of you assumed I was referring to you...)

"SHUT UP! Just how the hell..."

(...did we end up with a defective human like you?!)

"Ah well, I suppose beggars can't be choosy." Bahamut smirked, shaking his head.

"I'll make you eat those words!!" Lombadra yelled, tackling the Steel Dragon.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Riot asked with concern.

"Nah, they're not really fighting this time." Nala replied. "They're just making friends."

"Do all guys have to fight to be friends?" Hazuki wondered aloud.

Even as the girls stood watching Bahamut and Lombadra in their childish brawl, all failed to notice a cloaked figure spying on them from the shadows. Coincidentally, this was the same one who'd been watching them from the harbor roof during the storm in their Home World...


	5. Heart of the Ice Dragon

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Heart of the Ice Dragon**

By nightdragon0

(Geez, how long can these two go on?) Kris wondered, watching the struggle from within Bahamut.

(Hey, a Dragon's pride is his life.) Firestorm said. (Trust me, I know it.)

(In that case, that probably wouldn't qualify you as a Dragon.) Jade commented.

(Grrrrr...)

(Chill buddy.) Jade laughed nervously. (Hey Kris, I've come to one conclusion through. I understand why Storm and Nightslice are always fighting.)

(Why's that?)

(It's in their genes!) He declared, referring to the two Dragons.

Needless to say, they weren't the least amused.

"Shut up!!" Bahamut threw a sudden left hook into Lombadra's face for that.

"Dammit! I wasn't the one who said that!" The Fire Dragon protested.

"I'd like to see if you can find a way to punch your own human." Bahamut taunted. "Then again, you could always strangle yourself."

"Grrrr...why you?!" Lombadra roared, lunging.

A short distance away, Nala, Hazuki and Riot just yawned and lay down to have a nap.

* * *

It was evening before Lombadra and Bahamut finally settled down and allowed the girls to talk them into going back.

"You know, what exactly are we supposed to do now?" Hazuki asked as they walked. "We're in a whole new world and have no idea about where to go."

"We can probably start by searching for any Spirit Crystals that may have been thrown into this world." Nala suggested. "And Alken too...if he's here."

"Any idea how?"

"Not for now, but it's a good suggestion nevertheless." Bahamut spoke. "I'll take that into account."

"Hey, who died and made **you** the Dragon King?!" Lombadra demanded.

"Simple. Kris is leader of the humans in this group. Nightslice, leader of the Pokemon. Since both of them are with me, that automatically makes **me** leader of this motley crew!"

"Grrrr..."

(Our Dragon is rather out of hand.) Nightslice sighed.

"Yeah, and another thing. I'm not **your** Dragon. You're **MY** Pokemon. Got it?"

(Jeez, this guy's got an ego bigger than Firestorm's stomach.)

(Hey!!) Firestorm protested.

(And your stubbornness too, Nightslice.) Kris commented.

(Lombadra, just back down and don't start another fight!) Jade yelled, cutting in.

"Damn..." The Fire Dragon snorted, frustrated. "Fine, but know that if you screw up, I've got my claws on the leadership mantle."

Bahamut gave a satisfied chuckle as he brushed past Lombadra.

"That's it flame face. Be the good guy. Hahaha..."

(Hey, now that we're settled down, how about letting us out of here?) Kris asked.

"Where?"

(IN here. Inside you, you know?)

"Who said I was ever going to do that?!"

Immediately, everyone stared at him.

"Erm...hey, I didn't mean it that way." Bahamut laughed nervously. "What I meant was...erm...that...if anyone knows how, they could...yeah...tell me."

(Wait a minute!) Jade cried. (You two don't know how to turn this off?!)

"Not really." Lombadra muttered, hanging his head. "You'll just have to stay there for a while."

(WHAT?? YOU MEAN I'M GONNA BE STUCK IN HERE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE??)

"SHUT UP!!" Everyone yelled.

(Just try to take it easy and don't make it worse for us.) Kris ordered. (We'll work this out, somehow...)

"Hi, everyone!!" Yusia called, suddenly running onto the scene.

"What are you doing here?!" Hazuki asked as her younger sister leapt into her arms.

"I brought her." Epsilon replied, walking forward. "Seems like you've managed to work things out."

(Somewhat.) Kris sighed. (But what made you come out here?)

"Yusia had something she really wanted to tell you all." The Alakazam said, eyeing the two Legendary Dragons.

"Dr. Sid actually." Yusia explained, pulling out a large map. "He said to take a look at this map of the region."

"I don't get it..." Hazuki muttered as everyone knelt down to have a look. "This looks like a map of the Hoenn Region to me. Then there's Johto and Kanto over there."

"Of course!" Nala snapped her fingers. "It's the fact that the map looks exactly like ours! This world's continents are laid out exactly like the ones in ours!"

"Here's where we are now." Yusia pointed to a large island.

(I believe that's where Sootopolis City would be in our world.) Jade noted.

(Look, the continents and some major cities are even named in the same way.) Firestorm gasped. (Sootopolis is on that map!)

(Weird...it's like a rikyuu...) Kris said softly.

(Erm, in English?) Jade asked.

(Reversed Sphere, literally translated from Japanese. Although here I mean it as 'Another Earth'. One thing I'm sure of is that both worlds are connected somehow.)

"Does Zian know anything?" Hazuki queried.

"He doesn't want to talk right now." Yusia looked away. "He seems...I don't know...really sad, or angry, or something in between."

"He's depressed. And frankly, I don't blame him." Riot spoke. "But until he snaps out of it, I don't think we'll be able to get much out of him. It's a large problem because I believe he's the chap who could tell us the most."

"There's another thing you guys should know." Epsilon told them. "Most of Hoenn is far away enough to be relatively neutral to the current war. However, Kanto in the East in primarily Dragon territory and Johto in the West Pokemon grounds. A figure of the opposite side caught in the wrong place wouldn't be appreciated at all."

"Great, more problems." Lombadra sighed.

"It's not all bad news through. We assume that you're searching for the Spirit Crystals Zian talked about, and Sid and myself wish to help. There's a shrine in the town up here that supposedly holds an ice crystal that fell from the sky." Epsilon continued, jabbing a finger at the map.

(Lombadra's crystal was in a shrine too.) Jade commented. (I think it's worth a look.)

"That'll be our next course of action then." Bahamut said cheerfully.

Everyone else threw him slightly annoyed looks, but decided not to argue.

"I'll arrange for an old friend of mine, Raijin, to meet you guys once you get there." Epsilon informed them.

"Can I come?" Yusia begged. "Please?"

"But Yusia, it might be dangerous." Hazuki protested. "I..."

"You guys need my help!"

"I think you should let her come." Lombadra said, causing Hazuki to look up at him. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to her as long as I'm around. I promise."

"Lombadra-san...arigatougozaimasu!" The young girl smiled. (Mr. Lombadra...thank you very much!)

(Note: In Japanese, 'san' is added after a person's name as a term of respect. It can roughly translate to Mr, Mrs, Miss, Sir or similar terms along that line.)

Hazuki too, nodded in agreement.

"Then we should give you these too." Epsilon pulled out 5 black devices that reassembled wrist watches. "These not only tell the time, but double up as communicators, so you can contact us at the Alenky Lab."

"Fancy stuff you have these days." Bahamut commented, slipping on the communicator as if it were a ring onto one of his right hand fingers.

Lombadra had to do the same, considering the larger sizes of the two Dragons.

"Good luck then people. Keep in touch." Epsilon bade them goodbye as he teleported away. "Don't worry, I'll look after Zian too."

"Zian..." Lombadra sighed.

"No time for second thoughts people." Bahamut declared. "Let's get this show on the road."

As the others started walking, Lombadra pulled him aside.

"Do you feel anything strange about the youngest girl, Yusia?"

"What, the little midget? No, don't think so..."

"Never mind then. Let's just go."

"What was that about?" Bahamut wondered as Lombadra sprinted on ahead.

* * *

During the trip, the group took time to fill the two newly revived Dragons in on their story. Both took great interest in it, despite their differences and constant bickering.

"Hmmm...we really had an effect on both these worlds." Bahamut nodded.

(It's something we just seem to keep out of, it seems.) Kris told him.

"Yeah, well it comes with our prestigious status." Bahamut replied, looking up. "Hey Rockhead! See anything yet?"

That was directed to Riot, who was currently in the air on the lookout for the Koori Town, their destination.

"Does Mr. all high and mighty have to give everybody nicknames?" The Aerodactyl growled.

"Well, Nightslice told me you're always full of hot air. Would you rather me call you airhead instead, Rockhead?"

(Hey, Riot I swear that was just a joke!) Nightslice cried.

"Oh, and what gives Kris and Nightslice the honor of being addressed by name?" Lombadra demanded.

"Impress me, flame-face."

"Why you...!!"

"CUT IT OUT!!" Hazuki yelled, jumping between them. "Jeez! I'm starting to feel like someone's mother!"

"Enough, we're here already." Nala gestured.

Up ahead, the lights of the town were clearly visible. It was just as well too, since the sunlight was quickly fading and darkness taking its place.

"What was that?!" Hazuki gasped.

"What?" Bahamut asked.

"I saw something rush past. Didn't you?"

"Must be your imagination kid." The Dragon scowled. "I don't...ARGUH!!"

In a sudden flash of yellow light, the Steel Dragon was abruptly thrown over.

"OK, I knew there was something! Be on alert guys! Rockhead, you watch the left. Flamey, take right!"

The group quickly complied, with the humans falling into the center of their formation.

"Gargh!" Lombadra slashed at something in his direction. "Damn! Missed!"

A Hyper Beam from Riot gave no better result, and served only to give their opponent an opening to knock her down.

"Crap! How do we hit it if we can't see it?!" She yelled.

"If we can't match its speed, then we've got to take away that advantage." Bahamut decided. "Everyone, group up real tightly, back to back!"

"What are you planning?" Lombadra asked as they moved.

"Just watch hot-head. Attack now, forward!"

Instinctively, Lombadra threw his body forward, only to seemingly hit nothing and end up on the dirt floor.

"What the?!"

"RAARGHHH!!" All of a sudden, Bahamut spun around and lunged.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Riot screamed as she knocked Nala, Hazuki and Yusia to the ground.

However, Bahamut hadn't been aiming at them, but rather their attacker. The Steel Dragon had timed his attack just right, catching his opponent just as it was about to strike his back. The two went rolling over in a heap, and after much struggling, Bahamut managed to pin it down.

"No point having light speed if I know your destination!"

"Guargh...all right, I admit defeat!"

_Damn...he really is a good leader. _Lombadra said to himself. _Not like I'll tell him that anyway..._

The rest of the party gathered round and stared at their attacker.

"A Raikou?!" Hazuki gasped.

"Yeah, I'm Raijin, Commander of the Koori Temple Guards. I believe you're the ones I was sent to meet?"

"The why did you attack us?" Lombadra growled.

"That friends, was just a test. I wanted to see firsthand if you are truly strong enough to undertake this quest you've chosen."

"Looks like we've passed then." Bahamut said, letting the Thunder dog up.

"Heh, I went easy on you guys. But come on, let's head to the Temple where we can get acquainted over dinner."

* * *

"Gurgh...I never thought...gulp...food could...taste...this...good...slurp!" Bahamut muttered. He'd instantly taken to stuffing his face the moment they were at the table.

"Yeah...slurp...it's really...so...good to...eat again...gulp." Lombadra nodded.

Everyone else just stared nervously. (With sweatdrops)

(Guess neither of them had a chance to learn any table manners.) Kris sighed.

(Nah, Firestorm can be worse sometimes.) Jade commented.

(That's not true!)

(Oh yeah? I spent 24 hours/ 7 days a week with you. You think I don't notice?)

(Grrr...Jade, when these Dragons can finally separate back into us, you're in for a major whacking!)

"Humph, uncivilized barbarians..." Lombadra muttered in-between bites. "I would...urgh...hurghh!!"

He promptly chocked on his food and everyone started beating him on the back, much to the amusement of his rival, Bahamut.

"I take it you've enjoyed yourselves." Raijin smiled, entering with another dog-like Pokemon. "This here is my younger brother, Hojin the Entei."

"Delighted to meet your acquaintance." The Fire elemental bowed his head. "I've heard that you wish to go to the Shrine of Ice and examine the crystal there."

"Indeed." Bahamut nodded. "Can it be permitted?"

"Certainly, however, there may be a few complications." Raijin said.

"Complications?"

"The Shrine of Ice is located up Koori Mountain, just North of town. Travelers used to visit it to pray for a safe journey through the harsh mountains. However there have been many reports recently of attacks in that area. We ourselves have lost several soldiers investigating. In the end, we closed up the mountain pass, and it has remained that way since."

"We could help out with that, and take care of who or whatever is behind these attacks." Bahamut smiled. "After all, you're looking at a Legendary Dragon. If anyone can kick butt, it's me."

"Even so, we still need to go." Lombadra continued with a slightly annoyed look on his face. "If it is a Spirit Crystal, we'll need to obtain it at any costs."

"Seems like you've made up your minds, although I still advise against initiating any unnecessary confrontations." Raijin nodded. "However, it's far too dangerous to go at night. You'll have to wait until morning."

"Understood." Lombadra replied. "Thanks for your concern."

"Unfortunately, Hojin and myself are obliged to remain here to protect the town in case of an attack from that unknown menace."

"We can take care of ourselves."

"No, I can't send you people into unknown territory by yourselves." Raijin insisted. "Well brother, we'll need sis to bring them there. She knows the place relatively well."

"Not her!" Hojin protested. "You know how she is!"

"Just call her over."

"I'm already here. So what do you want?" A grumpy female voice called.

All heads turned as a Suicune leapt past them in a breeze of cold air. The water elemental Pokemon gracefully landed in a fancy pose before sitting down on her hind legs, vainly waving her purple mane about and pushing back the sunglasses she wore on her snout.

"A bit dark for sunshades, isn't it Gwyenvere?" Raijin asked.

"Humph, unlike you two dorks, I'm not bound by any stupid rules of honor." She snorted.

"Rules sister? It's common sense."

"That's your opinion. So, if you need to tell me something, spill it and don't waste my time."

"We need you to escort these travelers to the Shrine of Ice on Koori Mountain tomorrow. Both Hojin and myself will be busy."

"All the way there?! Take a hike bro. I ain't going to that freaky place ever again!"

"Gwyenvere, you fail to understand the importance of this..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, long speech again. Jeez bro, I know you've got your head in the clouds over being the big leader here."

"And it's a fact that I'm the leader here and also the eldest brother." The Raikou growled, getting angry.

"So what are you going to do?! Make me go?!"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Humph, do your worst bro."

"All right then. If you don't go, then I'll show them this album of your baby photos!" He declared, holding up a square book in his front paw.

The Suicune's face immediately turned into one of complete shock.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!! Anything but that!! Hand it over now!!"

"Oops..." Raijin calmly stepped aside and sent her flying into the wall. "Hojin, here!"

The Lightning dog tossed the photo album to his brother, who caught it in his mouth.

"Garrghhh!!"

Gwyenvere rushed for him, only to have him toss the album back to Raijin. This carried on (with Bahamut and company staring with sweatdrops) until they wore her out.

"Fine...whew...arghh...I'll do it." She moaned, flopping down on the floor.

"Good, then I suggest we all get some rest." Raijin smiled cheerfully, helping her up. "You've got a long journey ahead of you tomorrow."

Slowly, everyone filed out of the dining hall until just Hojin and Lombadra were left.

"Hey, you still have her photos, right?" Lombadra asked, nudging the Entei. "How bout giving me a peek? I promise I won't tell anyone."

"No way."

"10 bucks a piece."

"20."

"15."

"Deal." Hojin winked.

(Perverts...) Jade muttered.

(Hey, pay the guy already!) Firestorm yelled excitedly. (I wanna see 'em too!!)

(Help...)

_Heheh...sweet revenge. _Firestorm thought happily.

* * *

Bahamut lay down on the tatami mat (A Japanese straw mat) and glanced out the window, up into the starry sky.

(Something on your mind?) Nightslice couldn't help but asking.

"Besides feeling the two of you at the back of my mind, yeah, sort of." The Dragon nodded. "It's that I feel...really different. I just can't describe it, but I feel it."

(I think it's because you're no longer a warrior of the evil.) Kris suggested. (The Sacred and Forbidden Powers, which made you and Lombadra those warriors, are gone forever now. You're your own individual now.)

"But what am I really? Am I even real...?"

That caught both Kris and Nightslice's attention.

"In the sense that am I the real Bahamut, the Legendary Steel Dragon, or merely a collection of his memories, stored within the Spirit Crystal? It's unnerving..."

There was a long silence amongst the three, but finally Nightslice spoke up.

(Even if I can't answer everything, I can say this: you're alive, a living being like the rest of us. That's what counts right now.)

"I'm mortal too." The Steel Dragon chuckled. "Not like I was really immortal back then, but the only thing that could kill me was a power from the opposing side. That isn't the case now."

(Bahamut...) Kris whispered.

"One more thing. Don't either of you dare tell flame-faced Lombadra about what I said!"

* * *

Gwyenvere looked up as her room door slid open.

"Oops...I'm sorry!" Hazuki gasped. "I sort of got lost. I'd better go..."

"No, don't worry about it." Gwyenvere nodded. "This place is kinda big. What were you looking for?"

"Well...a drink actually..."

"You're lucky I've got my own personal supply then. Don't stand there like an idiot, come in!"

"Thanks." Hazuki smiled.

Gwyenvere leapt over to a small refrigerator at the side and tossed her a canned drink. The Suicune then grabbed one for herself, emptying the can into a large bowl that served as a 'water dish'.

"I'm a Water type, so I always keep plenty of these spare. Getting dehydrated is not a good thing for me."

"I am too, partially at least." Hazuki nodded. Cupping her hands together, she used a little of her powers to form an ice cup by freezing the moisture in the air.

"Ice too eh? That's always a nice combination. Are other humans from your world like this too?"

"In my world, having powers like mine was always a cause for concern." Hazuki sighed. "I spent a lot of time either defending myself, my friends, or hiding. Here, it's so...different. By the way, I'm Hazuki. You were called Gwyenvere, right?"

"Just Gwyen will do."

"Ok. Gwyen, could I ask you something then?"

"No problem. Shoot."

"Your brothers both have a 'jin' at the end of their names. Is it coincidental?"

"They're both named after the Thunder and Fire Gods of our tradition." Gwyen muttered, looking down. "It's some old story that leads back to our earliest ancestors, the trio of Raikou, Entei and Suicune known as Raijin, Hojin and Suijin respectively."

"Then what about you? Couldn't you be named after Suijin?" Hazuki wondered.

"In our tradition, only guys can be named after the Three Elemental Gods."

"Oh...I'm really sorry. That was why you didn't seem very friendly in front of your brothers?"

"It's not your fault, so don't be." Gwyen replied. "It's all the stupid tradition's fault! For that and for saying only males are allowed to become Temple Leaders too!"

Furiously, Gwyen tossed her empty can aside.

"Damn! Stupid traditions! They suck! And know what?! My brothers are the worst of all!!"

"I'm sure you have your own reasons for disliking them." Hazuki said softly. "Sorry to stir up bad memories for you. I'd best be going now."

Gwyen didn't do anything to stop her blue haired girl as the door closed, leaving her alone in her thoughts.

_Do I really have a good reason...? _

* * *

The odd feeling lingered in her mind even until morning, but Gwyen quickly pushed it aside as she led the party up Koori Mountain.

"Careful guys!" She called over the howling winds. "Test the ground before you step on it, just in case it collapses!"

Hazuki and Yusia, clad in winter clothing, clung on to her back.

"It had better not be much further!!" Riot shouted. The rock flyer wasn't enjoying the trip at all, having to walk using her rear legs and tips of her wings. And neither was Nala, who clung onto her partner's back for dear life.

"Just around this ridge! Look out for a small cave! Cause the shrine was built into a cavern in the mountain!"

"Hey, is it just me, or is the ground shaking?" Lombadra, bringing up the rear of the group, yelled.

"Erm...ugh-oh..." Gwyen realized. "Avalanche!! Hurry, we've got to make it in time!!"

Throwing caution out the window, the party dashed up the narrow path. The ominous rumblings were more than enough to spur them on. The entire group managed to throw themselves into the shrine's entrance and duck down as thousands of tons of snow and rock came pouring down outside.

After those tense moments, Gwyen poked her head out from underneath the snow that had covered them, together with Hazuki and Yusia. Fortunately, the cavern's mouth hadn't been blocked up, allowing them the benefit of having light streaming in through the entrance.

"Everybody all right?"

"Ow...my ears are ringing." Moaned Lombadra.

Bahamut pulled himself to his feet and gave a thumbs-up.

"I hate snow..." Riot growled, shaking the ice off her wings.

"At least we're alive." Nala breathed. "That was a real close call."

(Unfortunately, no thanks to her.) Nightslice noted, referring to Gwyen. (I though you were trained to be able to sense something like that?)

"If it were a natural one, yes I would." Gwyen defended. "However..."

"Wait, you mean somebody caused that avalanche on purpose?" Hazuki gasped.

"Wouldn't you need a bomb or something for that?" Yusia asked.

"Not really." Gwyen replied. "A single, extremely strong Pokemon could possibly do the job."

"Hmmm..." Lombadra growled, dusting himself off. "Why do I think Raijin's mysterious attackers are the same ones that want us dead?"

"Because he's right behind you!" Bahamut warned. "Get down!"

Lombadra instinctively dropped to the floor. However, before Bahamut could fire, a blue beam of ice flew into his body, freezing his blasters and chest solid.

"GGGARGGHHH!!"

"What the hell?!" Lombadra cursed as their attacker moved into view.

Its body seemed to have been carved out of the ice itself, forming it into basically a main body with four limbs. Hidden amongst the snowy cavern, it had been concealed so well that no one spotted it until now.

The Regice uttered an odd screeching sound as it hovered intimidatingly in front of them.

"He's mine!" Lombadra declared. "Salamander..."

Regice interrupted his attack by firing an Ice Beam at the ceiling, sending snow pouring onto the Fire Dragon, temporarily blinding him. Lombadra had barely managed to get the snow out of his eyes when he suddenly found the ice golem at point blank range.

Before he knew what was happening, he was frozen up to his neck in ice. The golem proceeded to continue pounding him, finishing by slamming him into the ground.

Unable to fly due to the cramped conditions, Riot could only attack with a Hyper Beam, which Regice warded off with a Reflect attack, and countered by sending off a Blizzard, freezing the unfortunate Aerodactly.

"Riot!!" Nala cried, catching the golem's attention.

With a diving tackle, Hazuki knocked her friend out of the Ice Beam's path.

"Yusia, this way!" Hazuki ordered, grabbing her sister's hand as she and Nala ran.

The trio slipped on the icy floor and went rolling head over heels, finally ending when the floor gave way under them, sending the girls screaming down a large hole.

"NO!" Gwyen gasped, horrified. She let loose with a powerful Hydro Pump from her mouth, which ended up clashing with the golem's Ice Beam.

Bahamut, although with his arms immobilized, charged and rammed Regice with his shoulder. The icy golem ceased attacking Gwyen and turned on him instead.

In desperation, Bahamut lashed out with his tail. Unfortunately, it only ended up being frozen, along with the rest of his lower body. Roaring in pain, he managed to turn towards Gwyen.

"Go...after the...kids!!"

"But...you..."

"Just go no...aauurrghh..." The rest of his sentence was promptly cut off as his opponent completely encased him in ice.

Reluctantly, Gwyen utilized the distraction and sprinted, leaping down the hole.

Meanwhile, a dazed Lombadra looked up just in time to see an Ice Beam hitting him in the face, turning his entire world an icy white.

* * *

"Hazuki!!" Gwyen screamed, diving down into the darkness.

"Here!"

Gwyen sighed in relief upon seeing the trio had managed to haul themselves onto an outcropping ledge. The Suicune joined them on the platform, where they took a few moments to catch their breaths.

"Damn, whatever that thing was, it just kicked our butts." Nala panted. "This doesn't look good at all."

"No kidding." Hazuki replied. "What do we do now?"

"Onee-san! Look there!" Yusia pointed.

Further down, a faint light glowed in the middle of the seemingly bottomless pit.

"That light..." Hazuki gasped. "Is it..."

"What is it?" Nala asked.

"Don't know, but we have to find out." Hazuki declared, standing up. "Can you look after Yusia for me?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Climb." She said firmly. "If that's what I think it is, then it's the only chance we have."

Looking down, Hazuki spotted a smaller platform a couple of feet below theirs'. Carefully positioning her feet, she dropped down onto the outcropping, bracing herself against the rocky wall. That left her with several scars on her hands.

"Hey, be careful!" Nala called with concern.

"I will!" Hazuki replied. She then turned to find Gwyenvere on her platform as well.

"Get on my back." Gwyenvere told her. "I'll give you a hand."

"Gwyen, this isn't your fight..."

"Don't concern yourself with my safety." Gwyen snorted. "What you should be worried about is your friends up there, and your sister."

"Gwyen..."

"Well, don't just stand there!"

"Thank you." Hazuki smiled, pulling herself onto the water Pokemon's back.

Gwyenvere continued the descent, carefully leaping from outcropping to outcropping. Some barely had enough room for her to put two feet on them, but the nimble Suicune simply balanced herself against the walls and carried on.

"You know Hazuki, I thought about what you said last night." Gwyenvere spoke as they moved. "And I realized I didn't have a good reason for disliking my brothers. I just keep looking at what they can do and I can't, when really, I should've been viewing it the opposite way round. Let's see those fat dummies try doing this!!"

"Wow, you've been thinking a lot." Hazuki whistled. "I guess you still dislike the traditions?"

"Those, I'll always hate, but I don't want to associate my brothers with them any more. I saw your friend's concern for you earlier and I realized that, if it were my brothers frozen solid up there, I'll be as willing as you to jump into a black hole to save them."

"Watch it!"

Gwyenvere accidentally stepped on a loose rock, which caused her to slip and fall, sliding down the side of the wall.

"Dammit!" She cursed.

"Wait, look there!"

Gwyenvere glanced in Hazuki's indicated direction and gasped. Hovering in mid air was a glowing, ice colored white crystal. Its soothing light immediately caused the pair to relax.

Hazuki stared down and realized that they too, were floating. She reached out her hand and the crystal flew into her arms.

"A Spirit Crystal...we were right after all!"

"That bas#&d trashed the shrine so badly that the crystal ended up all the way down here?!" Gwyenvere growled. "That, I cannot forgive!"

"But...what if..."

"No time for hesitation now. You want to become a Dragon, right? And save our friends up there? Well so do I." Gwyenvere nodded firmly. "We'll soar the skies together Hazuki. After all, we're friends, right?"

"Partners." Hazuki grinned. "Water and Ice are a good combination after all."

"Then what are you waiting for?! Let's go already!"

Clutching the Spirit Crystal tightly, Hazuki held it to her chest.

"Hakkei! Dragon Meld!"

(Note: Hakkei – Japanese. Used in martial arts terms, it refers to the release of inner power.)

The scene Hazuki saw in her mind was that of a snow covered tree beside a lake. Glancing around the snowy area, she found a new Kanji symbol, Koori (Ice), on the back of her right hand. Then, Gwyenvere burst out from beneath the frozen river, with the same symbol engraved on her sides, near the stomach area.

Hazuki closed her eyes as the hail around them become more intense, completely shrouding their forms, changing them into a new one.

This one was a large, quadruped Dragon about 5 feet, standing on all fours. She was covered in bluish-white crystalline ice scales with a white belly at the parts beneath. More of a standard dragon shape, with four limbs with five fingers on each fore and rear claw. Her claws were white and fingers webbed in-between, adapted for water.

The eyes first seemed to be a light blue, but then began to glow purely white.

Her head was elongated with a snout like most Dragons, with an icy colored mane at the top and back of her head, covering those parts and the neck.

The teeth were white and beautiful, but sharp and deadly nevertheless. 2 white horns adorned the back of head, pointing backwards. A small blue gem was embedded on center of her forehead.

She spread her leathery wings, revealing the translucent 'skin' sections, allowing light to shine through. The symbol for Koori (Ice) was viewable at the upper edges of her wings, closer to the tip.

A line of ice spikes ran all the way along her back and down to her long and thick tail. And that ended with a 'mace' like series of ice spikes.

"Winter's Redemption... Asiyu!"

* * *

Further up, Nala and Yusia were staring down when a bluish-white shape abruptly leapt up from within the pit, grabbing them and pulling them up along with it.

"Ow! What the...huh?" Nala found herself gawking at the sight of the beautiful Dragon.

The Dragon's glowing white eyes first turned towards her, then stared at Yusia with interest.

"You are..." The young girl walked up and touched Asiyu's leg in awe.

"Once again..." Asiyu spoke softly. "I must become...the Legendary Dragon of Ice..."

Raising her head, she let off a fierce roar.

"It seems like I have no choice now." She continued. "Let the battle be joined..."


	6. Walking in the Darkness

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Walking in the Darkness**

By nightdragon0

"Hmmm...this looks like the place the locals told us about." Alken commented.

Hiking through the mountain trail had proved to be a difficult task, but the pair had finally managed it. Night had fallen and together, they were resting at the side of the path leading down to the Dragon Realm's version of Sootopolis City.

"Well, I'm blind, so don't ask me." Abetos growled.

"Sorry...I..."

"Don't worry about it."

"No, I just keep forgetting." Alken shook his head.

"Hey, you know I don't blame you for what happened to me." The Houndoom said, lying down beside his friend.

"It's much more relieving to hear that in a voice I can actually understand." Alken smiled. "That's one thing I at least like about ending up in this crazy 'alternate' world."

"Let's see, you don't have to worry about some Team Rocket hit squad busting in and trying to kill you too. You'd fit in just nicely if you were a Pokemon."

"..." Alken stood up and moved away from their campfire.

"Huh? Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, it's not that Abetos. Remember what the village elder was telling us earlier?"

"The long story about the Great Wars, the current Dragon/Pokemon war, this 'other' world and all? I admit, I wasn't really listening."

"Doesn't really matter anyway. I'm hoping to get a more detailed explanation in this Sootopolis City . Possibly even find Kris and the others, if they're here too."

"And then what?"

"I don't know, really." Alken admitted. "Even if we could get back to our world, I'd certainly have second thoughts about going back."

"Would Nala change your mind?" Abetos asked, raising his head.

"Huh?!"

"Come on, since the whole Chimera Incident, you've been secretly watching over her. Think I wouldn't notice such a thing? You l..."

"Abetos, don't use the 'L' word!"

"Erm...yeah, sorry. Got carried away."

The two stared uneasily at each other for a moment before a strong gust of wind nearly blew their campfire out.

"Let's just call it a day." Alken suggested.

Even as the pair lay down to rest, neither one noticed an odd, winged shape hovering some distance off. Not like they could've seen in, for this particular creature was shrouded by a cloak of invisibility.

"They've Dark elementals." A soft, female voice whispered. "Both. I wonder if they're the ones?"

Silently, the mysterious eavesdropper flew off into the midnight sky.

* * *

Abetos moved towards the study room's door and found Alken was still talking to the other human, Dr. Sid. He'd been there practically the whole day since they'd arrived at the lab. They'd gotten a whole lot of information chucked at them at once, a little too much for the Houndoom to handle.

Abetos was after all, used to the 'simple life' of just taking battle orders. And currently, he just wanted to find a good spot to lie down and take a nap.

He found it ironic through that Alken, no matter which world he was in, had to hide his face to prevent attracting too much attention. Here, he did so by wearing a large trench coat and pulling a hat low over his face.

The Alakazam, Epsilon, happened to walk past and Abetos gave him a grunt of acknowledgement after recognizing his scent. Without waiting for a response, he continued on and almost fell down the stairs.

Frustrated, he felt his way down and entered the first room at the bottom. Although it seemed empty at first, his enhanced sense of smell quickly detected another presence in the room.

"Anyone here?" Abetos called. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything."

"Hmmm..." A voice spoke. "You're...blind?"

"Yes." Abetos replied dryly.

"I see. Well, this is sort of a lounge, so feel free to use it. Not that it matters to me anyway."

Abetos nodded, through he couldn't understand why there was a sense of scorn in the figure's voice. That was until he brushed into something while moving past a sofa.

"Damn, my tail's fallen again. Grrrr...I can't even lift it up..."

Abetos stopped short, feeling the motionless, scaly object in front of his face.

"Are you Zian, the Dragon?" He queried.

When he received no answer, Abetos listened more carefully for the sounds of breathing and neatly leapt up onto the couch. Reaching out lightly with a paw, he felt around until he touched the shoulder of the dragon.

"I'll take it as you are." Abetos remarked, leaning back against the couch.

"Can't you see I'm not in the mood?!" Zian gave off a faint growl of annoyance.

"I'm afraid I cannot see at all."

"Well, excuse me for not being more sympathetic. Just go away."

"Is that what you say to everybody?" Abetos pushed.

"Grrr...I can't because I can't do anything for myself any more!! I'm crippled!! I can't even move anything below my neck! So just leave me alone!!" Zian yelled angrily.

"So, you want to be left alone to wallow in self pity? That's not what I'd expect from what I've heard about you."

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE?!" Zian snapped. "When your minds screams, but your body fails to respond?! Having wings that are useless now?! Being a prisoner in your own body, from which there's no escape?!"

"I won't lie and say I understand." Abetos stood up, touching his blindfold with a paw. "But I will tell you about my own experience. Once, I didn't need this thing. I could see once. But I made one mistake...and I'll live the rest of my life in darkness because of it. But it didn't stop me from fighting...from protecting the ones I care about!"

"Then why concern yourself with me?"

"Why? Because I WAS you, once." Abetos replied. "When I first lost my sight, I felt useless, helpless, like a liability. I couldn't bring myself to do anything. I lost all hope in myself..."

The dog-like Pokemon pulled his blindfold off. Although his eyes remained closed, tears were still streaming from them.

"But there was someone. Someone I cared about." He continued. "She didn't give up on me...and she came through. She got me back on my feet...and yet...I couldn't help her when she needed it the most. She paid the ultimate price because of it..."

Zian was silent for a long while before he finally managed to find some words.

"That...may be for you. But what could I possibly do, given my disability?"

"Use your head." Abetos said, leaping off the couch and exiting the room without another word.

Zian moved his head as much as he could and lay back against the sofa, lost in thought.

* * *

"That's really quite a tale." Alken said. "I can see why Kris never wanted to let me in on this."

"I'm sure she had good reasons for it." Sid replied.

"Don't worry, I understand. Unfortunately, I'm part of it now." Alken sighed.

He happened to turn and glance out the window. Standing on the path below was a humanoid figure completely covered in a brown cloak. It seemed to stare right back at him before throwing the hood down.

Alken was startled to see the face of a young, human girl.

"I have to go." Alken muttered, getting up.

"Something up?" Sid asked, turning around. "Wait, where are you...?"

"Sorry, this is urgent!" Alken called back. "Abetos, come on!"

In no time, the ex-Rocket was joined by his partner and both were out the main door.

"Where did she..." Alken wondered. "There! Hey! Wait!"

The mysterious girl waved, as if beckoning them to follow, then broke into a run.

"Hold on!" Alken gave chase, running down a narrow alley and leaping over a fence.

He noted that the town still showed signs of the earlier battle as there was still some debris lying around the streets, along with burnt and damaged buildings.

However, the girl was his main focus. As he tailed her through the streets, Alken could've probably come up with a hundred and one questions to ask. It also seemed very strange to him as to how she always seemed to appear just out of reach, stop and wave, then continue running.

Eventually, the girl led them out of the city and towards the mountain path they'd come down earlier.

"She seems to want us to go up there." Alken muttered. "This could be a trap, but I have to know..."

"Know what?" Abetos asked.

"Who that human girl is, and what she's doing here."

"That's what we've been running around for?"

"Yeah, sorry I forgot to mention that. Guess you never got close enough to catch her scent. Come on, looks like she's headed up the same path we took."

"Hey, there are dozens of scent trails here." Abetos panted. "They're all mixed up, and it's hard even for me to tell."

"Nevermind, she's up there." Alken replied. "We just have to...yargh!!"

The dirt path they were running across abruptly gave way beneath their feet, sending the two rolling down a long tunnel, screaming all the way.

THUMP!!

"Oww..." Abetos moaned. "Lucky this grass pile was here to cushion our fall."

"Abetos, I'm the one on the grass. You're on top of me."

"Oh, sorry!"

As the pair dusted themselves off, they took a while to take in their new surroundings. To describe it simply, the place looked like a huge garden with a complete assortment of exotic plant life, stone ornaments, benches and a fountain in the center.

Tall trees went high up into the sky, their leaves forming a thick canopy that allowed only a little sunlight to seep through. Yet, several odd lampposts emitted enough light to see clearly. On closer examination, Alken found the 'lampposts' were actually glowing crystals on stands.

"What is this place?" He wondered out loud.

No sooner had he said that did he feel sudden gust of wind.

"Move it!!" Abetos screamed.

Instinctively, Alken rolled aside just as an invisible object whooshed past, smashing a nearby tree down.

"Something's here..." The Houndoom growled. "I can hear it..."

Alken drew a gun from his belt pouch, a HK USP Tactical pistol. The weapon carried 12 shots, although it wouldn't be of much good of he couldn't see his opponent. He could, however, feel the rush of wind and managed to dodge another attack.

"My call." Abetos growled.

The Houndoom paused for several uneasy moments before letting loose with a humongous Flamethrower. The attack found its mark, with its victim letting off a strange, high-pitched wail.

Their foe flickered into view for a second, apparently having lost the concentration of his invisibility cloak. Alken managed to fire twice, but it dodged the shots and spun around for another strike.

All of a sudden, the girl from before leapt down in front of them, holding her arms out wide.

"Everyone, stop this now! That's enough!" She ordered.

Alken lowered his weapon in amazement as their attacker fully materialized. He was a blue and white Pokemon shaped somewhat like a jet plane – Latios.

"You shouldn't bring strangers here Rynn." Latios growled.

"They can help us brother, I know it." Rynn insisted.

"Excuse me, but would you two mind telling me what's going on here?" Alken asked.

"Yeah, why don't you just get...URGH!!"

Rynn shoved Latios' face away.

"Don't be so rude, we have guests you know." Rynn smiled cheerfully. "Hi, I'm Rynn and this is my brother Ryan. He's a really bad-mannered, so don't mind him."

"Hey..."

"Shhh...I'm still talking. Anyway, it's really nice to meet you too." She continued, shaking Alken's hand. "I'm really sorry about deceiving you, but I sort of needed you to come over here. You'll forgive me, won't you? Ppppwwwweeeeaaaasssseeee?"

"Erm...OK..." Alken sweatdropped.

"She's hyperactive." Ryan sighed.

"But you're her brother, right? Then...how?" Alken muttered, glancing from Rynn to the Latios.

"Hehehe, you're so easily fooled by what your eyes tell you." Rynn giggled. "Here, close your eyes..."

"I..."

"Come on! Just close you eyes...good. Now put your hand on my forehead, like this. And...tada! You can open now!"

Alken found a red and white Latias in front of him and jumped back in surprise.

"WHOA!!" He started, jumping backwards.

"Hehe! My special ability is to bend light around myself, making me appear like all sorts of other things. I just choose something that would be familiar to you two."

"I see." Abetos nodded.

"Oh yeah, you're probably wondering why I went through all that trouble of bringing you here. It's cause, you see, we sort of need your help."

* * *

"So, you family takes it upon themselves to watch over this Secret Garden." Alken nodded. "That's certainly interesting."

The siblings had taken Alken and his partner to a higher ledge of the mountain, where they'd gathered in a circle to rest by the light of a campfire.

"Yep, certainly is a family treasure." Ryan replied. "They say a great amount of magical energy flows through the garden, and even more secrets are supposed to be locked away within."

"So, this mysterious 'Dark' force, it just appeared one day?" Abetos queried.

"What I know is that I saw 7 flying objects I thought were shooting stars that night." Rynn explained. "I was outside and didn't think much of it, but then it happened that one of those things flew right into the mountain. It left a long, large crevasse in its side."

"Why should that be important?"

"See, Ryan and I started to feel dark energies growing within. We aren't exactly sure what it is, but neither of us can get close enough to examine it."

"We're both part Psychic types." Ryan agreed. "And the Dark elements hurt us pretty badly."

"Hmmm...I can understand why you request my help, but what about Alken?"

"We can sense the same aura of Dark elements within your friend."

"Within me?" Alken wondered. "Maybe it has something to do with me being in this alternate world."

"I know it's asking a lot." Rynn spoke. "But you two don't have to do it if you don't want to..."

"Of course we'll help!" The pair replied simultaneously, and then gave each other odd glances.

"Cause it's the right..." Alken began.

"...thing to do." His partner finished.

"Really? Thanks so much!"

"Don't thank us yet, there's still a chance we won't be able to do anything."

"Geez, you're an optimist Alken."

"We'll need some equipment through." Alken decided.

"Taken care off." Rynn told them. "I have some rope and lighting equipment in my stash. Now, only thing left is to show you the hole. Well, it's sort of...down there."

Alken glanced over the ledge and found where she was pointing. It was a dark hole further down their side of the mountain, surrounded by several sharp rocks.

"Now...that'll be a challenge." Alken whistled. "Come on Abetos, let's go."

"Hey wait! You can't possibly go in there at night!" Rynn protested.

"Let's just say I like to live dangerously." He replied with a wink.

* * *

"So, who was the one who liked to live dangerously?" Abetos growled.

"Oh shut up. You're not the one who's doing the work!"

"I think you're just out of shape. Haven't been working out much, have you?"

"And you're not exactly weightless either."

The climb turned out to be much more difficult than Alken had expected. The Dragon siblings couldn't get too close to the hole, but they'd managed to firmly secure Alken's rope to thick tree above. And so, he'd descended with Abetos clinging to his back and a glowing 'light crystal' strapped to his belt.

Despite how it'd looked earlier, Alken had a hard time finding anything to grip onto.

"There's a slight breeze blowing up from beneath us." Abetos commented. "This hole must then either lead to an open area, or someplace with a source of wind."

"Any idea how deep it is?" Alken asked, tossing a small pebble down.

Both fell silent as Abetos listened out for the sounds of the rock bouncing off the walls.

"I can't hear if it did hit the bottom." He reported. "Wind's making too much noise. And so is your rope."

"My rope? But what..."

Alken glanced up and suddenly realized why. His rope had gotten caught on a sharp outcropping and the friction of his tugging on it had been wearing the rope down. The sound Abetos had heard was probably the tearing of the rope fibers. The gunner gulped, seeing that it was on the verge of breaking.

"Uh-oh..."

"What? Is everything all right?" Abetos queried, shifting his weight.

That movement caused Alken to shift slightly as well. It just so happened that it was enough to snap what remained of the rope.

"AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!"

Screaming, the pair went plummeting into darkness...for about 7 seconds.

"Gargh!!"

Both hit a surprisingly soft bottom, moaning as they struggled to their feet in the dark.

"Damn, twice in one day." Alken muttered. "Oh crap! I've lost the light crystal!"

"How dark is it?"

"Pitch black."

"Hehehe..."

"Hey, what's so funny Abetos?!"

"Welcome to my world partner." The Houndoom barked. "Just hang on to me and I'll lead you around."

"Perhaps for starters, you could tell me what we're standing on."

"This...erm...huh?"

"What?"

"I think it's something alive." Abetos cringed.

No sooner had he said that did the 'ground' begin to move, throwing both members sideways. Alken hit what he definitely knew was the rocky ground rather hard. Upon hearing his partner's yelp of pain, he drew his gun and aimed towards the noise.

"Abetos?!"

"Damn! He's here...ARUGH!!"

Alken's hand trembled, afraid to fire in fear of accidentally hitting his partner.

"Show me where you are!" He ordered, drawing a second USP pistol in his other hand.

The area to his left suddenly lit up in the orange glow of the Houndoom's Flamethrower ability. The light revealed Abetos firing at a terrifying creature. It was a much larger, serpent-like Dragon with black scales covering its entire body. Its limbs seemed rather small compared to its main body and tail. It was currently reared up, with a veil of skin opening at its head that formed a 'hood', almost like a King Cobra preparing to strike.

Alken didn't need any more encouragement to start firing. However, his shots seemed to cause no damage at all. All they did was to attract the creature's attention, turning its glowing yellow eyes towards Alken.

"Get down!" Abetos ceased his attack and tackled Alken, taking him down just as a spray of acid shot past them.

Plunged once again into darkness, Alken heard the fierce hissing of the strange liquid and decided that he didn't want to know what it was. Too tired to muster a continuous burst, Abetos resorted to using short breaths of fire to light up the cavern, allowing Alken to see. It didn't help that the Houndoom had to dodge the serpent's attacks at the same time.

"Crap!" Alken struggled to reload his weapons in the dark. "I can barely see, no less hurt that thing. What the hell am I supposed to do?!"

Then, some odd sensation hit him. It was almost like a feeling or instinct that told him to close his eyes and focus. There were the sounds of the battle, Abetos howling and firing, and the creature hissing.

_Wait, that's it!_

The serpent was hissing continuously, but its tone abruptly changed every time it struck. Alken timed his shot, listened for that different one and fired.

He was rewarded by the sounds of the creature screeching in pain.

"Wow, what did you do?!" Abetos gasped, dashing to his partner's side.

"I figured out that he makes a different sound before he attacks. And he has to open his mouth to do that, so..."

"You sent some bullets down his throat. Nice, but we're not out of the water yet!"

The serpent began thrashing about, shaking the cavern and throwing both off their feet.

"AAARRRRGGGHHH!!"

"Abetos!!"

"Grrr...something's stuck in my shoulder!!"

"Hang on! Move a little closer and I'll pull it out!" Alken fumbled. "There, got it!"

"YEOWCH!!"

The object in Alken's hands began to glow in a purplish light. Alken squinted as the dark cave suddenly lit up till it was as bright as day. It was almost as if the darkness was being absorbed into the thing in his hand, which he realized was a dark black colored crystal.

He could also see the serpent creature more clearly, which had a large amount of green blood squirting from its forehead as it thrashed round it pain. It was distraught for now, but Alken was sure it would come after then again.

"Someone's...calling us..."Abetos suddenly spoke.

"Huh?"

"Don't you hear it? Feel the power? It's like there's something within the crystal."

"The crystal...?" Alken muttered, holding it close to his chest. "Yes...I do feel something. This...Spirit Crystal..."

As he did that, his hand glowed as the Kanji symbol 'Yami', darkness, engraved itself on the back of his right fist and on Abetos' two front paws.

"Hoero! Dragon Meld!" (Roar! Dragon Meld!)

The background changed as time seemed to stop, becoming a dark graveyard area. Alken dropped the crystal to the ground and it burst into a pool of dark energy. Abetos leapt into the 'pool' as both sank into it, disappearing completely.

From it, a new figure emerged, crawling its way out.

It was a 6 foot tall humanoid dragon, muscular built and covered in black, armor-like scales.

His face was concealed by a featureless gray mask, as if metal had been molded over his elongated dragon face. It covered the entire head down to the neck, but the mouth was still free to move. Two white fangs were visible in his jaws and two horns protruded from the back of his head.

He had five fingered hands and two toed feet, all ending in white claws/toes. His two pairs of red leathery wings appeared battered and torn up. There were gray shoulder pads, knee pads and sections beneath arms, along thighs and at waist. The tail too was gray through not very long or flexible.

Finally, the 'Yami' symbol was also on back of his fists.

With a fierce roar, the new Dragon immediately sprang into action. His hand transformed into razor sharp, curved, sickle-like swords, which joined to the wrists. He dashed back and forth, slashing at the injured serpent with his blades.

The serpent brought its tail up and lashed out, slamming the ground as its opponent dodged, executing a series of fancy flips and summersaults. He then flashed across the field in an Extreme Speed technique, smashing the serpent into the wall.

The serpent let off a series of acidic breaths, forcing the Dragon to leap away. Putting his hands together, he utilized a Double Team to create multiple illusions of himself. As the serpent stared around, confused, his opponent came up behind him and knocked him over.

With his opponent down, the Dragon raised a claw and gathered a dark ball of energy into it. He then hit the ground with his fist and the dark energy gathered around him, exploding into a humongous burst.

* * *

"Hey, did you see that?!" Rynn gasped, flying over to the site of the explosion.

"Yeah, wonder what the heck happened?" Ryan replied.

"I hope Alken's all right."

"Over there!"

Rynn turned to see the humanoid dark Dragon emerging from a smothering hole in the side of the mountain.

"Wow..." She muttered.

"Just who is that?" Ryan wondered. "I've never heard of any Pokemon or Dragon like that!"

"Wow...he's so...HOT!!" Rynn cried, giving a blushing, teary-eyed look.

"Hoh boy..." Ryan moaned, slapping his head.

The dark Dragon turned his head towards the siblings before glowing in a purple light and changing into two more familiar shapes.

"It's Alken and Abetos!" Rynn swooped down towards the pair, who were lying on the ground and panting. "Guys, are you all right? What happened?! Were you that Dragon just now?!"

"We're fine, but we don't know what happened." Abetos managed.

"But the Dragon..." Alken brought the crystal up and stared at it. "It was part us...but most of him."

* * *

Later, Alken was again resting by the side of the mountain path with Abetos by his side.

"You can hear his voice, right?" Alken was asking, indicating the crystal.

"Sort of." Abetos replied. "But I suspect it's more of a feeling he's sending into our minds that an actual telepathic voice."

"Yea, I think so too."

"From what I can catch, he must be one of the Legendary Dragons we heard about. And apparently, he wasn't a particularly good one. As in, the good and evil kind."

"But he wants to change that now, doesn't he." Alken muttered, looking into Spirit Crystal. "Sounds a lot like me, doesn't it? Hey friend, I wasn't a good person in the past either. We can't change what we did then, but we can make a difference now. We'll find our redemption together, if you're willing to."

"Rynn, Ryan, how long have you been watching us?" Abetos suddenly jerked his head up.

"You're sharp." Ryan commented as the pair materialized.

"We're really sorry to intrude, but that was pretty interesting." Rynn added in. "But you're OK with it, right?"

"I'm fine, don't worry." Alken replied. "Did you two find out what happened?"

"Apparently, that Spirit Crystal of yours' is what crashed into the side of the mountain earlier." Ryan explained. "It's a powerful source of dark elemental energy, as I'm sure you've found out."

"And that serpent-like thingy you described must've come after it, seeking its power. Unfortunately, he couldn't control it like you guys could." Rynn continued. "It's called a Naja Dragon by the way, a Poison elemental."

"This crystal...and this Dragon." Alken muttered. "I want to learn more about them."

"Oh, you mean that really hot fellow you guys turned into?" Rynn swooned. "You've got to get him to come back here and introduce me once you can! I've never seen a more gorgeous and handsome Dragon before! Oh...my handsome prince, wherefore art thou? I can hear it now, the ringing of the wedding bells, the..."

"The only things ringing are the bells in your head." Ryan growled, dragging his sister off by the ear.

"Ow! Ow! Not the ear!! Not the ear!! OOWWWW!!"

Alken and Abetos sweatdropped as the pair disappeared.

"Guess there are a lot of things in this crazy world that'll stay the same, eh?" Abetos commented.

"And a lot that won't." Alken nodded. "I do know this through, our Dragon is the Legendary Warrior of Darkness. And his name...is Skiar."


	7. Memories! Breaking the Ice!

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Memories! Breaking the Ice!**

By nightdragon0

"Come out! I know you're here!" Asiyu's voice reverberated off the walls, giving nothing but echoes. The cavern they'd climbed back into was surprisingly empty, although its entrance was still blocked up by snow.

(They were definitely here just a while ago.) Hazuki said from with the Ice Dragon.

"What if that thing took the others somewhere?" Nala wondered.

She leapt off Asiyu's back, and had to whistle to attract Yusia's attention in order to get her to come down. The young girl was simply fascinated by the Legendary Ice Dragon.

"Our opponent is hiding..." Asiyu muttered. "Wait here."

Nala nodded, pulling Yusia back as Asiyu charged into a wall, shaking piles of snow off the ceiling.

(Whoa, what gives?) Gwyen gasped.

"To see, you must listen." Asiyu replied, closing her eyes.

She then turned and rammed another wall with her shoulder. Immediately, she moved to hit another, continuing in that way for several rounds. Finally, Asiyu lunged forward, curling her body up and utilizing a Rollout attack.

The ice spikes on her back shattered an entire section of the wall, revealing a long tunnel leading downwards.

(A hidden passage?) Gwyen whistled. (Wow...)

(Asiyu, you were listening for the sounds of movement, right?)

"Indeed, child. There are, perhaps more things I'd like to know about you, but for now, your desire to rescue your friends is great. That's enough for me."

Asiyu cautiously tiptoed down the narrow passage, which led into a chamber with a hole in the center. She noted that it was too small for her to climb down as she was, however...

"Prepare yourselves for the ride of your lives." She grinned.

(Wait!) Hazuki protested. (Don't tell me you're gonna...YYYAARRGGHHHH!!)

* * *

Asiyu curled up like a ball and spun herself down the hole, which soon became a winding series of narrow tunnels (Sonic the Hedgehog style). It was an adrenal rollercoaster-like feeling, through some weren't enjoying it as much as others.

(YYYYEEEEEEHHHHHHAAAAAA!!) Gwyen laughed.

(HHHEELLLPPPP!! STTOOPPP!! III WWWAANNNAA GGEETT OOOOOOFFFFFF!!) Hazuki screamed. (IIII'MMMM GGGONNAA BBBEEE SSSIIICCKKKK!! AARRGGHHHHH!!)

As the tunnel widened into a much larger secret area, Asiyu gracefully flipped over and landed perfectly on all four feet.

"Humph, was that all?!"

(GGaargghh...I'd be puking my guts out if I wasn't inside you right now...) Hazuki moaned.

(Hey, forget about that and look over there!) Gwyen told them.

(Oh my...) Hazuki stared.

In front of them lay the motionless forms of Bahamut, Lombadra and Riot, all frozen solid.

(We have to get them out of there!)

Asiyu took one step forward, then stopped and shook her head.

"No, it's a trap. It's what our opponent wants us to do."

(But...)

"Not to sound insensitive, but we'll have to leave them there for a while. The enemy lies in wait. We cannot charge in headfirst only to receive the greater bulk of the damage."

(Yeah, you're right.)

Asiyu snapped her head up, feeling a slight breeze.

"He's here...somewhere. Lying in wait..."

(Damn, just how are we going to find that thing?!) Gwyen growled in frustration. (It was made of ice itself! It could practically meld itself into any one of the walls here.)

"Koori to yuki wo, watashi no ryoubun, oboeru?" Asiyu winked. (Ice and snow are my domain, remember?)

(Sugoi...) Hazuki commented. (Amazing.)

"I could get used to being back in the world of the living like this. But for now..." Asiyu spun round and launched a series of star-shaped projectiles, Swift technique, as Regice materialized from the wall behind them. "There's a battle that must be fought!!"

Her attack drove the golem back slightly, but it flickered and began firing Ice Beams. Asiyu leapt and somersaulted away, dodging the beams and retaliating with a Hydro Pump, fired from her jaws.

Regice cast a Protect spell, completely nullifying her attack. It then fired off Shock Wave, an electric elemental attack that struck Asiyu as she was landing, throwing her into a corner.

"Urgh...not bad...but you'll have to do better than that to beat me!!" Her eyes glowed a bright white as she let off a purple Psychic blast of energy.

The golem took the blast head on and seemed to waver a little. It quickly recovered however, and came upon Asiyu with a full body charge in a Facade attack. She was sent flying and barely dodged a Zap Cannon in mid air.

"Grrr...so he wants to play with electricity huh? Well, time for some strategy of my own." She muttered, standing up on her hind legs and raising her front claws. "Clouds! Thunder! Send forth the storms...Rain Dance!"

As if from nowhere, rain droplets began pouring into the area, creating puddles and soaking the ground even more than the melting ice already did.

(Yeow!! Are you crazy!) Gwyen yelled. (Rain Dance with electric attacks?! We're gonna get fried!!)

However, Asiyu seemed to be doing nothing but standing still with her front claws together and her eyes closed. Regice watched her cautiously for a moment, then blasted her, full force, with a Zap Cannon.

"Mirror Coat!" Asiyu roared.

She still cried out in pain as she fell back, her body convulsing from the both the shock and the paralysis effect that surged through her body. Almost immediately after, her counter spell took effect.

The energy beam that rocketed towards her opponent sent the golem clear across the room and through the far wall. Groaning in some odd sounds, it scrambled up, shook violently for several seconds, and finally exploded in a spray of ice shards.

Asiyu dropped to the wet floor and lay still for a while, panting wildly.

"Gargh...remind me never to do that again..."

(At least you gave him a real whacking for that, huh?) Hazuki grinned.

"That was an unnecessary risk, I admit...but it's a challenge, isn't it?"

(Yeah.)

"Unfortunately, I seem to have overlooked one slight problem in my battle intensity."

(What's that?)

"Grrraarrgghhh! Now I can't move!!"

Hazuki and Gwyen moaned.

* * *

"Never mind, I'll separate into the both of you. Give me a while to recover and I'll be all right. Get the others out in the meantime..."

(Asiyu? But how? The others couldn't do that and...whoa!)

The Ice Dragon's body glowed and changed, sending Hazuki and Gwyen tumbling to the ground.

"Ow!" Hazuki moaned, rubbing her sore butt. "Hey, Asiyu?!"

She reached over and grabbed Asiyu's Spirit Crystal, which gave off a short glimmer.

(I'm all right. Go help the others.)

"Wow..." Gwyen exclaimed, getting up. "That was ssssooooo cool! I can't wait to do that again!! Now I've got something I can laugh in my brothers' faces about!! AAHahaahaha!!"

(Hazuki sweatdrops.)

"Erm, Gwyen, how about them?" She asked, pointing to their frozen comrades.

"Yeah, we need to get them out. What do you think we should do?"

"I dunno. Use our heads?"

"Leave that to me!" Gwyen charged into the ice surrounding Riot with a Headbutt. "RRRAAGHH!!"

WHAM!!

"Ow...I have a headache..." She groaned before collapsing.

"Oh brother..." Hazuki sighed. "Well, I can do this!"

Closing her eyes and concentrating, she managed to form a weapon out of ice in her hands. It was a simple club with a thick blunt end, but it would serve their purpose nevertheless. Drawing it back, the Lapras Chimera swung it with all her might.

Unbeknown to her, Gwyen's attack had actually made several small cracks in Riot's icy prison. The Aerodactyl had been struggling from within, and the ice abruptly shattered, just as Hazuki's club came down on her head.

THUMP!!

"Eep..." Hazuki cringed.

"RRRROOOAARRGGHHHHH!!" Riot pounced, knocking Hazuki the girl onto her back. "What in heaven's name are you doing you lunatic?! Trying to give me a concussion?! Oh, wait...I can move again!! Thank you so much!!"

"Yeah, no problem." Hazuki breathed a sigh of relief as Riot let her up. Experience from living with the Aerodactyl had taught her that the ancient reptile wasn't exactly the most forgiving persona.

"You beat that thing yourselves?" Riot queried.

"No, we had some help." Hazuki held up the Spirit Crystal. "But we'll talk about it later. Think you can get the boys out of there?"

"I'll try..." Riot took several deep breaths, then charged up her Hyper Beam and fired, breaking Lombadra out as well.

"GUARGH!!" He hollered. "GODDAMMIT!! I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE!!"

(You?! What about us?!) Firestorm roared.

"Quit being such a bloody baby!" Riot scolded, slapping Lombadra's face with her wing. "And help get Bahamut out."

"Can't I leave him in there?"

"GGGRRRRRR..."

"All right, all right. Jeez, females!" He growled, opening his mouth to unleash a Flamethrower.

"No Wait!" Hazuki and Riot jumped onto him, slamming his mouth shut.

Lombadra's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he swallowed his own fiery breath.

"If you just blast like that the temperature shock could kill him." Riot explained. "Plus, he's a Steel elemental too! He hates fire."

"Aw shoot...erm...I mean...yeah, I forgot. I'll do it the hard way then." Lombadra cracked his knuckles and threw off a series of punches that eventually broke Bahamut out of the ice encasing him.

"Grrr...saving the best for last, eh?" The Steel Dragon panted.

"You should be thankful I even saved you at all! I'd have rather left you in that ice cube!" Lombadra jabbed a finger in his chest.

"Speak for yourself, popsicle!"

"Hey, you're not even weak against ice, so don't take it out on me!" Lombadra shouted. (Bahamut is Steel/Dragon, which nullifies ice damage to normal effect.)

"What?! You're not weak against ice either, Chopper-face!" Bahamut retorted. (Same here, with Lombadra as Fire/Dragon, which also nullifies ice damage to normal effect.)

"Fine! But you're Dragon side provides some fire resistance, and you're STILL afraid of it!" (Steel/Dragon, with the Dragon element nullifying fire damage to normal effect.)

"It's called hating fire, not being afraid. Unlike you...you're not completely vulnerable to water either...but YOU CAN'T SWIM!!" (Fire/Dragon, with the Dragon element nullifying water damage to normal effect.)

(Author's note: Look at a Pokemon Weakness/Resistance chart and you'll understand.)

"GGGGRRRRR..."

"RRRAAGGGG..."

Kris, Jade, Firestorm and Nightslice all sighed heavily from within their Dragons. Hazuki walked over to Gwyen, who'd finally awakened and they remerged into Asiyu's form.

While Riot gasped in shock, the two male Dragons failed to notice, until...

* * *

"SHUT UP THIS INSTANT!!"

"Yes ma'am!" Both Dragons jumped, snapping to attention.

(Hazuki?!) Kris gasped.

(Yep, and Gwyen's here too.)

"Hey babe..." Bahamut started, waving a claw. "I gotta say that..."

Thwack! Asiyu gave him a tail whack right between the legs.

Bahamut kneeled over in shock, clutching his groin in just as much pain.

"Don't ever call me that, understand?!" She snarled, grabbing his neck.

"Uh-huh..." The Steel Dragon nodded meekly.

(I'm sorry about that!) Hazuki apologized.

"Asiyu?" Lombadra asked. "You...remember me?"

"Oh Lombadra, how could I ever forget you..." Her eyes narrowed. "You pervert!"

WHAM!!

Lombadra was soon mimicking Bahamut's position on the ground.

(I'm really sorry!) Hazuki called.

"Now, if you boys are done fooling around, let's find a way out of here before I have to thaw you bunch out of another 6 feet of ice." Asiyu huffed, turning and marching down the new tunnel Regice had made.

"Ugh...I'd say she's a wonderful girl, but I think she's made me impotent." Bahamut moaned.

"She is usually nice. She's just in a bad mood." Lombadra replied.

(Hey, why did she call you a...) Jade began.

"NO! I mean...erm...no, I'd rather not talk about that." Lombadra said nervously. "Let's just say it wasn't exactly a PG-13 rated incident."

(And you people think I'm the one who's love sick.) Firestorm snorted.

(Haha, this reminds me of that incident where Hazuki had a wooden staff and gave old Kioi a real run for his money.) Nightslice commented.

"Huh?" The two Dragons wondered.

(Aw, forget it and go help Asiyu before she decides to do anything else to you two.)

"Huh? Yeah!"

The group followed and found Asiyu standing by the side of the smaller cavern. She gestured towards a small crack in the wall, which she was trying to reach her claw into.

"There's something in there, but I can't see what it is."

"We'll need some light." Bahamut decided. "Hey flame-head, this is your call."

"Right." Lombadra opened his mouth to unleash his flames, only to have his companion slam his jaws shut, forcing him to swallow his own flames for the second time.

"Not from your mouth, from your tail." Bahamut growled, snatching up the Charizard-like flaming tail.

"Hey! What gives?!" He cried as Bahamut dragged him towards the crack. "Wait a minute! You're not going to stuff my tail in there, are you?"

"Don't be silly." Asiyu said. "If we don't stuff it in, we won't be able to see anything."

"What?! NNNNNOOOOO!!"

The other two Dragons tackled him and hauled the struggling Fire Dragon to the side. Bahamut shoved him down and handed Lombadra's tail to Asiyu. By carefully stuffing it into the hole, she was able to see enough to make out circular red button, which she pushed. The 'floor' they were standing on suddenly shook and began to rise, making loud humming noises.

"This room is really an elevator!" Riot whistled in awe.

"My tail!" Lombadra whined. "How could you people even think of stuffing it into some dark, dingy hole?! What if there was water in there?! You could've put my flame out for crying out loud! Hey! Hey, is anybody listening to me at all?!"

However, he was completely ignored as the secret elevator rose to the ground level, where Nala and Yusia stood waiting, waving as their friends came into view.

The happy reunion was short-lived as the area once again began shaking.

"Uh-oh! Looks like the fight didn't do anything good to the stability of this cave!" Asiyu realized. "Everybody out! Now!"

Leading the group, she used her Rollout move to break through the blocked entrance, just as the roof came tumbling down, throwing everyone off their feet in a wave of snowy whiteness.

* * *

"Gargh! Bargh!!" Firestorm gasped, bursting out of the snow. "Man, that was some weird dream."

(Reality check buddy, you ain't dreaming.)

Firestorm realized he had the Fire Spirit Crystal in his claw, which flashed as Lombadra spoke.

"Whew, I'm glad to be in control of my own body again." Jade muttered, jogging over from another pile of snow. "What happened?"

(Guess I must've run out of energy.)

"Hey guys!" Nightslice flew over and landed beside them, with Kris following closely behind.

"Everyone all right?" Kris asked.

Nala and Riot approached as well, and the entire group gave positive responds.

"Asiyu took Yusia out for a little talk." Nala reported. "She told us to go on first and that they'd catch up later."

(Damn, this sucks!) Bahamut's voice sounded from within his crystal. (You have the honor of being inside me, but I'm stuck in this stupid crystal when you're not!)

(Hey, I have it for me too, so don't complain!) Lombadra growled.

"Let's give this a try." Kris brought up the Spirit Crystal of Steel and pressed it to the handle of her Katana. Immediately, the crystal glowed as it magically melded itself into the handle, becoming part of the weapon itself, in particular a silver, metallic gem in the center of the handle. "Wow, these things are truly amazing..."

(So, I have to be inside this sword, huh? Well, it'll do.) Bahamut huffed. (At least I'm better off than chopper-face over there.)

(Hey! Jade! You'd better tell me you have some cool weapon or something, right?)

"Erm...heheh..." Jade giggled nervously.

(ARGH!! I hate this!!)

The party burst out laughing as they began their long trek down the mountain.

"You know, I wonder what Asiyu would want to discuss with Yusia?" Nala wondered out loud.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kris replied. "I'm sure you know that Yusia's a very special Chimera. Only now, I truly understand how unique she is."

"Hold on, you mean..."

"Well, we'll just ask them later."

* * *

"That's a lovely view!" Yusia smiled, riding on Asiyu's back as they flew across the snowy mountain. The orange glow of the setting sun added much to the beauty of the scenery.

"Certainly, it is." Asiyu nodded, smiling.

She descended and landed on a nearby ledge.

(You wanted to have a little chat with us?) Hazuki queried.

"Yes, especially your little sister. What I feel from her is truly unique...in fact, it is so much like myself."

(You mean...)

"Indeed, she 'is' me, so to speak. I felt it from within her."

"But how?" Yusia asked. "I thought you haven't been around for a very long time."

"In a way, that's not entirely true. But I should explain everything from the start." Asiyu took a deep breath. "I am unlike any of the other Legendary Dragons, in the fact that I was the only one who chose to give up my powers."

(Give up your powers?) Gwyen wondered.

"Long ago, two opposing Dragon Gods of good and evil met in a tremendous clash. It was then that my brethren and I were created, to fight in what you now call the Great Wars. However, I...defied...the laws of my kind...I fell in love..."

She was silent for a long time before continuing.

"I gave up the powers granted by my Spirit Crystal. I became mortal and ran...away from the wars, away from everything...to be with the one I loved."

(Of course!) Gwyen snapped. (I remember where I've heard your name now! You're the one they call the 'Goddess of the Lapras' !)

"Hmmm...I must've had a much greater impact that I thought." Asiyu chuckled.

(I don't get it.) Hazuki muttered.

(That guy she loved, he was the ancient ancestor of the Lapras species.) Gwyen told her. (I've always heard that Lapras were ferocious Dragons in the distant past, haven't you?)

(I may be from another world, but I've read about that story too.) Hazuki agreed.

"Heh, Miss Sarpal's old books really came in handy after all." Yusia remarked.

(Over all those millions of years, I guess Asiyu's Dragon genes must've been incorporated into the Lapras species, eventually vanishing amongst the midst of evolution.) Gwyen theorized. (That was probably when the Lapras changed from raging Icy Dragons to the gentle swimmers they are today.)

(No, not all the Dragon genes vanished.) Hazuki concluded. (Yusia is living proof that some still exist, deep within each and every Lapras.)

"Really?" Yusia beamed, glad to suddenly be the center of attraction.

(That's why you were always a little different from the other Lapras Chimeras: Sarpal, Ice and myself.)

"Fate is strange, isn't it?" Asiyu suddenly spoke up. "Seems I could never truly escape the powers of my Spirit Crystal, considering I'm back, for now at least."

(But what happened to your, lover?)

"I don't know. I only have some faint memories of our time together...I don't even remember when or how I, died in the past..."

(I'm sorry.)

"Don't be. You believe that I have returned for a reason, and I want to believe in that too." Asiyu grinned. "Just be sure you people can keep up with me, cause I'm still a tough fighter."

Smiling, Hazuki, Gwyen and Yusia all nodded.

* * *

"Ah, it's good to be out of there!" Firestorm yawned, stretching his wings.

The group had returned to Raijin's temple in town for some rest and recovery. Despite the exhausting battle yesterday, the Charizard found himself barely able to get any sleep. He was quite keen on exploring this new world, especially now that he was back in his own shoes, so to speak.

He'd practically gobbled down his breakfast earlier and had decided to take a short walk around town. It was actually a nice feeling, seeing all sorts of his fellow Pokemon walking around, and not a single human in sight. They didn't even exist in this reality after all.

An Espeon and an Umbreon walked past, giving him a wink as they did. Firestorm gleefully returned the greeting, flaring up his tail flame into a hot white fire for a second. The girls laughed before moving on.

"Hey, this world has some hot chicks too." He drooled. "I could get used to this!"

All of a sudden, a female Typhlosion strode past, flashing her 'mane flame' in a seductive manner.

"On second thought, I REALLY LIKE THIS!!" Firestorm's eyes widened as he took off after the fire Pokemon.

* * *

Later, the rest of the group had gathered outside the temple as they prepared to depart.

"So, you'll be going with them Gwyen?" Raijin nodded.

"Yeah, definitely." She replied. "I'm officially part of the team now. Besides, it'll be better than staying here with you bunch of losers."

"Same as always, sis." The thunder dog laughed. "Well, not like I could've stopped you anyway. You've always been the free spirit of the family."

"Just take care of yourself, and remember, you'll always be welcomed back here." Hojin finished.

"Erm...thanks a lot you two." Gywen blushed slightly.

Hazuki put an arm around Yusia's shoulder as they watched the siblings exchange hugs and nuzzles.

"It's always nice to have a family you can come home to." The older girl whispered.

"Uh-huh."

"Hey, hope you're not forgetting us, are you?" Nala barged in, jumping between the two.

"Nah, just a little lost in thought, that's all."

"Hazuki, I have something for you." Raijin called. "Catch!"

"Whoa!" She gasped, stumbling back as an ankh was thrown into her arms.

It was white in color and consisted of a short staff about the length of her arm. Its top ended in an ansate cross—a 'T' shaped structure with a loop in the center of it.

"That's called the Mitra Ankh. It's a holy artifact said to have amplified the magical powers our ancestors used in their ancient traditions. It remains to us now as a reminder of a time long past, but I think you'll find a use for it."

"Bro! You can't just give it away like that!!" Gwyen shouted. "That's against all the traditions!"

"That's funny, who was the one who said 'tradition sucks' ?"

"Ooohhh...!!" She fumed.

"Besides, I'm just lending it to her. You're in charge of looking after Hazuki and making sure she gets it back here safely, understand?"

"Bro, I hate you."

As everyone burst out laughing, Hazuki felt a nudge and pulled out Asiyu's Spirit Crystal.

(Try putting my crystal onto the ankh.)

Hazuki complied and the crystal glowed, melding into the staff and forming an ice-colored gem in the center of the cross. She channeled a bit of energy through the staff and caused a bit of snow to shoot out, falling to the ground in several puffs of whiteness.

"I think I'm getting used to it already." Hazuki grinned.

(Hey! This isn't fair!) Lombadra protested from within his crystal in Jade's hand. (She ran away from the war and she gets to be the Goddess of the Lapras?! Now she gets to be inside that sacred artifact too?? Even Bahamut gets to be a sword!! What about me?! I died saving the world from a greater evil and look where I am now!! What do you guys think I am?!)

(Chopped liver.) Bahamut sneered.

(Grrrr...)

"Great, you think we could add a 'silent mode' button to these two?" Kris sighed, holding up her sword, which contained Bahamut's spirit.

(SHUT UP!!) Both male Dragons yelled.

Just then, Firestorm came lumbering back with his head hung low down and a large red paw-mark on the right side of his face.

"Hey Storm, what the heck happened to you?" Jade asked.

"How was I supposed to know she had a mate??" The Charizard wailed, bursting into a teary-eyed face.

(Everyone else sweatdrops.)

"I don't think I want to know." Nightslice moaned.


	8. Confrontation! The Enemy’s Appearance!

_Pokemon_ _and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Confrontation! The Enemy's Appearance!**

By nightdragon0

"Gwyen, this shortcut seems awfully long." Kris muttered.

"It is this way..." The Suicune insisted. "Erm...I think..."

"Guys, I think we're going round in circles." Firestorm spoke.

"Why?" Jade glanced towards him.

"See the claws marks on this tree? I put them there the last time we passed it."

"I knew it! We've been walking round this forest in circles!!" Nala wailed.

The group moaned, everyone dropping to various positions on the ground. It was a thick forest too, with the sunlight barely managing to penetrate the thick canopy.

"Know what's the worst part?" Jade commented. "It took a big dumb Charizard to notice that."

"Grrrr!! Why you??"

"Yikes!!"

Jade dashed behind the closest figure, Nightslice, as Firestorm lashed out with his claws.

"Come here you!!" Storm roared, moving to the left.

"Not a chance!!" Jade reacted by dodging to the right.

"Get back here!!"

The pair continued their 'encircling' game until Nightslice got fed-up of being the pole in the center. The Scizor swung his pincers forward, knocking Firestorm, who happened to be in front of him, out cold.

"Jeez, these two are de-maturing as they grow older." He huffed, folding his arms.

However, that wasn't the only conflict at hand.

"Nice going Gwyen." Riot scolded. "What do you have to say for yourself now?!"

"Erm...I'm sorry?"

"Sorry?! How's that supposed to help us now that we're completely off the marked path and totally lost?!"

"Errr...I could get out my cell phone and order a pizza."

"Damn, you're a real bimbo."

"What did you call me?!" Gwyen snarled.

"B-I-M-B-O. Bimbo. Would you like a definition to go along with it?"

"GGGrrrrrr..."

"RRrrrrrraarrrr..."

"EVERYBODY TIME OUT!!" Nightslice ordered, slamming his claws onto a large boulder.

An odd silence fell over the party as they settled down.

"Not much of a team anymore, are we?" Kris muttered.

"Yeah, we haven't really been together much." Nala added in. "Not like the good old days..."

"And stress is kind of getting everyone on their edges." Hazuki nodded.

"Wait! Guys, you hear that?!" Gwyen suddenly asked. "It sounds like fighting!"

"She's not wrong this time, because I hear it too!" Nightslice pointed. "Over there!"

The party ran to the top of a slope and peered down.

"No! Stop it!! AARRRGGHHH!!" A scream ran out.

It was a Bayleef, and she was being assaulted by a gang of Victreebel, whipping her with their vines.

"Bandits!" Gwyen gasped.

"We have to help that Bayleef!" Kris declared, getting affirmative nods from her party.

(Finally! Some action!) Bahamut spoke from within Kris' sword. (It's boring sitting around in this thing.)

"Don't get your hopes up." Kris told him, drawing the weapon. "We've seen what you can do, so it's about time we returned the favor! Come on, let's go!!"

(What?! Hey!! You can't be serious!! Hey!!)

With a yell of fury, the ninja somersaulted down and sliced through the vines of the nearest plant creature.

"W...what are you?!" One of the creatures hissed as the others gathered to help their fallen comrade.

"Your worst nightmare..." Kris smirked. "Now, I don't think 8 on 1 is fair, isn't it? Why don't you just leave while you still can?"

"Are you mocking us, female?"

"Yup."

"You and what army fool?!"

"RRRAARRGGHHH!!" Nightslice leapt onto the scene, driving a mid-air, two-footed kick into the nearest Victreebel. "Who needs an army?"

Riot and Gwyen joined them in the showdown.

"Get them!!" The commanding Victreebel shouted.

Riot immediately engaged two opponents in a vine to wing battle. She took several hits, including a short spray of Poison Powder in her face, but charging in and attacking relentlessly gave her the victory, owing to her superior strength.

Meanwhile, Gwyen fired a Hydro Pump straight into one of her attackers, slamming him into a tree.

"Gurgh!" He gasped. "Hah! That doesn't hurt!!"

"Oh yeah, wrong move!" Gwyen let off an Ice Beam instead, causing him to squeal in pain. "How's that...urgh!!"

She was suddenly whipped by a pair of vines from the side. Nightslice jumped to her rescue, clawing the two new opponents away and tossing the already injured one into the pile.

"Thanks!" She breathed.

"It's not over yet!" Nightslice warned.

* * *

Kris stood in the center of the 3 remaining Victreebel, sword drawn and ready.

"Now!!" Came the leader's order.

As all three lunged for her, Kris leapt up, grabbing a tree branch from below, swinging herself onto the top.

"Hey boys!!" Kris dropped off the branch, angling herself so her feet bounced off the closest one.

"Gargh!!"

Kris used to momentum to rebound to a tree and change her direction, spinning in the air and slashing another one down from behind. The third one, the leader, whirled round as Kris somersaulted over his head. She launched two kicks followed by a sword slash and a shoulder charge.

That easily brought the leader to the ground, groaning and screeching in pain.

"So, how's that Bahamut?" Kris whispered, grinning.

(Humph, I'll give you some credit, but I could do better.)

"Just the answer I expected from you."

* * *

"Wow, did you see that?" Yusia whistled.

"There goes Kris again! Awesome!!" Hazuki cheered.

"Yeah, I'll never be able to get over what an amazing fighter Kris is." Jade nodded.

The remaining 3 humans stood watching the battle from the top of the hill, together with an unfortunately unconscious Firestorm.

"Can't you fight too?" Yusia asked.

"Sort of..." Jade scratched his head. "But Kris is part Scyther, and she blends with her feral half pretty naturally. Me? I can't really control my powers too well."

"Erm..." Hazuki lifted the Mitra Ankh. "I..."

(Don't worry...I understand that you don't like fighting.) Asiyu's voice told her.

Nala stood quietly to the side, lost in her own thoughts.

_What I need is a good gun...then I could do some damage..._

Her gaze happened to fall upon the crystal Jade held in his hand.

_And a nice Dragon to turn into...me and Riot...we'd make one unstoppable..._

"Urgh...what happened?!" Firestorm moaned, pulling himself up.

"Well, Nightslice decked you just now." Nala gestured. "But something came up and the others went to fight a gang who was attacking the Bayleef down there."

"The Bayleef?" Firestorm's eyes caught sight in the frightened girl, who was cowering behind a nearby boulder as the battle raged.

_Man! She's cute!! If I'm the one to save her, I bet she'll go out with me!!_ Firestorm thought happily.

"All right!! Here I come and...urughh!!" The hasty Charizard tripped on a thick tree root and tumbled forward. "WWWWWAAAHHHHHHHH!!"

"Watch out!!" Hazuki warned, the humans diving out of the way.

Unfortunately, Jade wasn't able to make it in time. Storm slammed into him, sending the two rolling down the hill in a tangle of limbs.

The battle below had gone well for Kris' team, and they'd surrounded the Victreebel, who lay groaning in a heap.

"Ready to give up?!" Nightslice taunted.

"Ha! Not a chance...huh?!"

All heads turned towards the sounds of Jade's and Firestorm's screaming.

"Incoming!!" Kris yelled as her group hit the deck.

"AARRRGHHHH!!" The Victreebel gang screamed.

WHAM!!

"We'll get you for this!! I swear!!" The leader cursed as they went flying off into the distance.

"AARRRGGGHHHH!!" Storm and Jade rolled towards where the Bayleef was hiding. It so happened that she peeked out as they approached.

"YYARRGGHHH!"

BAM!!

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as they pair collided with the damsel in distress. The Bayleef was thrown into the air, Firestorm headfirst into the boulder and Jade onto a pile of leaves. The force of motion forced Jade to roll forward into a seating position, just in time to catch the Bayleef in his lap. It literally knocked the wind out of him, but it also cushioned the girl's fall.

"Oh...I'm so sorry!" The Bayleef cried.

"Don't...worry about it..." Jade panted. "You all right there?"

"Yes..." She nodded. "All thanks to you!! How could I ever repay you?!"

"Hey, it's nothing..."

"You're such a modest guy!"

"Guurrgg..." Firestorm sat up rubbing his head, just in time to see Bayleef happily nuzzling Jade.

"It's no big deal!" Jade was waving his hands.

Firestorm's jaw practically hit the floor as he stared in utter disbelief.

"W...w...wha...what?! NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

(Everyone else sweatdrops.)

* * *

"Once again, I thank you for saving my dear Cadalyn's life."

"It wasn't too hard, really." Kris bowed. "But we in turn, return thanks for your hospitality, Elder."

"Please, you needn't be so formal." The old Meganium smiled. "Sit down an enjoy yourselves."

The Bayleef, Cadalyn, had brought the party to her hometown to meet her father, the Village Elder. It was a small colony of Grass-types living peacefully in the depths of the forest, and such, the whole village had been invited to the feast.

They soon learned that the colony was constantly troubled by the same gang of Victreebel bandits. Cadalyn was a little too adventurous in nature and wandered off by herself. It was how Kris' party had found her as they did.

"I see." Kris nodded. "But I heard that you have a town guard team. Couldn't they be sent to take out the bandits?"

"We do, however, considering the size of our community, there aren't enough to launch an effective attack and defend the village at the same time." The Elder told them.

"You mentioned knowing where their hideout was?" Nightslice queried.

"Indeed, but we have several possible locations. We fear the town may fall under attack while the guards are out searching, hence..."

"A stalemate." Firestorm nodded. "Hey, why don't we go help these folks out? What do you say guys?"

"Yeah!" The group cheered.

"You don't have to..."

"This we insist." Storm leaned forward. "Kicking bad guys' butts is what we do best!"

"He hasn't got much in the manners department, but you get the point." Jade laughed. "It's what we do these days, as much as we try to avoid it."

"Humph, mushiness." Gwyen muttered. "Jeez, wh...urk!"

Nightslice stomped on her foot and the Water elemental immediately held her tongue.

"Well, I certainly can't stop you then." The Elder nodded. "But I must insist that you exercise the utmost caution when dealing with the situation. There are more than just those you saw today."

"We can handle ourselves." Kris said firmly. "We just need the details, and we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Guys!!" Nala suddenly called. "Something's wrong with Riot!!"

Kris pushed her way through the crowd and sprinted to Nala and Hazuki, who were lifting the Riot out of her position.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, she just fainted." Nala informed them, placing a hand on her partner's forehead. "Whoa! She's burning up!"

"Clear out and give them some room!" The Elder ordered. "And get a doctor here immediately!"

"Dad, let me." Cadalyn leapt up.

The young Bayleef reached out with a vine to examine Riot, feeling her breath, looking into her mouth and her eyes.

"Pupils dilated, sudden fever onset, and there sores in the mouth, see?" Cadalyn pointed. "It's some Victreebel toxins."

"She must've been poisoned during the battle." Nala realized. "Can you help her?"

"Let's get her to the medical center!"

* * *

"Riot! You idiot! Why didn't you say anything?!" Nala demanded. "You could've died or something!!"

"I'm sorry..." Riot replied softly. "I didn't think that bit of poison powder could do anything to me."

"Victreebel toxins are quite potent." Cadalyn said, pulling the covers of Riot's bed up. "It's lucky our medical center is well stocked. You just need several doses and a few days bed rest and you'll be as good as new!"

"Oh wonderful...that's just what I needed..." Riot moaned sarcastically. "Do you have medicine in liquid form?"

"Don't be such a baby!" Nala scolded.

"Hey! Remember that time I was down with flu you took me down to the Pokemon Center? That lady there tried to shove a pill, like twice the size of my gullet down my throat!! Then they tied my mouth shut!! And they call themselves doctors?!"

"Riot, you were screeching so much that you were disturbing the other Pokemon."

Giggling, Cadalyn left the arguing pair and walked back into the lobby to pass the news on to the rest of the group.

"Your friend will be just fine." She winked.

"That's a relief." Kris nodded. "Only problem is that she'll be sitting out the battle tomorrow."

"We can handle it." Jade assured. "Besides, we have our secret weapons, right?"

(Hey, what's that supposed to mean?) Lombadra sent him a private message, to which Jade responded by stuffing the Spirit Crystal deeper into his pocket.

"Yeah, thanks a lot Cadalyn." Hazuki knelt down to pat Cadalyn's head. "You're a great healer!"

"Erm...actually I'm just in-training." The Bayleef blushed.

"I think you're pretty good already." Jade insisted.

"Hey! Thanks Mr. Jade!" Cadalyn cried happily as she jumped into him, knocking him over.

Firestorm gazed on, shaking his fists in frustration.

"What does **he** have that I don't?!"

"Probably a brain." Nightslice whispered to Hazuki and Yusia.

"Ugh!! Ow..." Moaned Jade from the floor.

"Oops...I'm sorry! Dad keeps telling me I'm not supposed to do that because I'm not a Chikorita anymore." She gasped, stepping off.

"Yeah...ugh..."

"But do you have to leave so soon?"

"Sorry, but we shouldn't be long. We're helping your dad out after all."

"Yeah that reminds me, I'd better head home before dad thinks I got lost again." Cadalyn nodded. "Well, I'll see you guys later!"

As the Bayleef dashed off, Nala leaned out of the door and waved to the group.

"Everyone!! Over here!!" She was excitedly holding up her black wrist device. "We've got a transmission!!"

"Finally, managed to get you people!" The voice on the other line exclaimed. "Damn frequencies were messed up."

"Zian?" Firestorm asked.

"Yes, it's me. And...how are you doing?"

"We're all right, nothing we can't handle yet." Firestorm gave him a brief summary of their adventure so far. "But you..."

"Yeah, about me...I've been thinking too." Zian paused for a while. "I've been at the lowest point in my life, but I realized wallowing in my own sorrows isn't going to help anything, or anyone. Grix and the others I...I left..."

"No one's blaming you either, buddy."

"Haha, that's just what Grix would've said. That's why...I want to help you guys out too." Zian continued. "Even if the rest of my body is permanently paralyzed, my mind still works. But this is a new world for us all...and there are bound to be a lot of thing you'll run into that you need information on. I'm stuck where I am, but what the heck, it's a huge library! I'll be your informant of sorts. If you run into anything you need the advice and such on, give me a call."

"Not to be rude, but can you handle it?" Hazuki asked.

"Nah, I just have to get used to working the computerized database with a headset and an electronic pointer between my front teeth. They've got some pretty interesting technology here and besides, I have Sid and Epsilon to help. Got them to move me into the computer room where I can actually do something."

"Thanks Zian..."

"It's your comrade Abetos you should be thanking. He's the one who snapped me back to my senses..."

"Abetos?!" Nala gasped. "He's here?! That means Alken's with him?! Where are they?!"

"I'm afraid I don't know; they ran off on their own."

"Just like them." Nala huffed.

"Remember people, my frequency is 141.12."

"Got it." Kris nodded. "Now, for a start, you could try explaining how our Dragon Melding works."

"Erm...that...well..." Zian staggered. "I'll get back to you on that."

"He doesn't really know." Jade muttered.

"Hey, I gave you guys some theories earlier on, remember? Just give me a while to work on them and I'll get you a better explanation."

"Yeah, we got it."

"Just watch yourselves guys." Zian warned. "Whatever evil forces tore through my group like a knife through butter are likely to be in this new world too..."

Reminded of the darker side of their situation, the group gave each other firm nods before turning in for the night.

* * *

The rays of the morning sun shone down through the canopy as the group made their way through the forest once again. The party was down to 6, now that they had left Nala, Riot and Yusia back in the village.

Leading the group, Kris and Nightslice were hunched over a tree stump in the middle of the path.

"This is definitely the Victreebel's trail." Nightslice growled. "Seems they came limping through here after the whacking we gave them yesterday."

"How can you tell?" Hazuki asked.

"Scyther sense." Kris and Nightslice grinned simultaneously.

Everyone else moaned.

"Nah, it's these obvious signs of Razor Leaf cuttings. And there's also their scent." The Scizor replied. "It's rather poorly concealed, if any effort was put into it at all."

"Almost as if they wanted to be found..." Firestorm muttered.

"Let's keep moving." Kris decided. "But keep a watch out for traps."

However, the party encountered no difficulties as they continued on their venture. The path eventually led them to a partially hidden cavern at the base of a mountain.

Kris signaled to her group to stay hidden in the foliage as she approached the entrance. She knelt there, listening and occasionally peering in before returning to the others.

"I don't hear anyone near the entrance, but it's too dark for even me to see." She reported.

"So what, do we go for the silent approach or charging in the hard way?" Jade asked.

"Wait, we may not need too..." Storm growled. "I smell...smoke!"

"From the cave?"

"He's right." Gwyen agreed, sniffing the air. "But what did those guys do? Let their campfire go out of control?"

The next sound that rang out was the high-pitched screaming of the Victreebel.

Nodding to each other, the party immediately entered the cave. It led into a series of winding tunnels which eventually opened up into a huge, central chamber.

"What the?!" Hazuki gasped.

The left part of the ceiling had a large hole in it, sending rays of sunlight streaming in. Besides the tunnel they'd just entered from, there were two more doors, which presumably led further into the hideout. Various pieces of poor quality furniture were scattered around the room, but most notable was the extremely large fire pit in the center of the room. The remains of a wooden cage lay burning, through an odd smell lingered in the air.

"Just what happened here?" Nightslice wondered.

"That'll have to be our doing." A voice laughed.

All heads turned as a Grovyle kicked open the left door, leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

"Are you one of the bandits?!" Kris demanded, drawing her sword.

"Those guys? Peh!" The Grovyle spat. "Even a Togepi could've beaten them. But they were good at swiping goodies from defenseless travelers. Pity they chose to steal the wrong thing, otherwise they wouldn't have ended up as deep fired vegetables."

He casually stuck a twig in his mouth as gestured towards the fire pit.

"That smell...then it's the vapor of the Victreebel acid!" Firestorm realized. "The smoke and the screaming...he just had those Victreebel burned alive!"

"That's so cruel!" Hazuki yelled.

"They happened to be in the way...just like you are now." The Grovyle laughed. "Hey! Bashaamo! Raguragi! You two find it yet? Cause we have a little more company."

The group stepped backwards as a Swampert barged through the other door, smashing it to pieces.

"Hmmm...perhaps there'll be a challenge in here after all." The Swampert snarled, eyeing the new set of intruders. "Whatever it is, we have the cargo."

A Blaziken appeared from behind the water elemental, juggling a small pouch.

"We're in for a fight." Nightslice whispered. "I don't know who these guys are, but I doubt they're on our side."

(Something's strange about them.) Bahamut's voice commented.

(Yeah, I feel it too.) Lombadra agreed.

(Don't underestimate them.) Asiyu finished.

There wasn't any more time for conversation as the enemy trio attacked, forcing Kris' party to split up.

Grovyle leapt in, slashing with the Leaf Blades mounted on his arms. Nightslice met his strokes, bringing up his claws to block the attacks. Grovyle suddenly drew back, and Nightslice saw his opportunity to strike. However, as he lashed forward, Grovyle sidestepped and parried a sword-stroke from Kris. Grasping Nightslice's wrist with his other hand, Grovyle rolled over, using his body weight to hurl the Scizor into his partner, taking them both to the ground.

Firestorm jerked his head left and right to evade Blaziken's swift kicking. Eventually, the attacks forced him back into a wall. Only this time Storm first let his opponent drive a Blaze Kick into the wall, then grabbed her leg and let off a burst of flame.

It utterly startled him when all she did was hold up her claw and literally knock his flames away. Storm was so stunned that he forgot about her other leg, which came up in a fantastic aerobic feat that sent him sprawling face first onto the floor.

Swampert was firing balls of mud in his Mud Shot attack, which Gwyen literally ran up the wall to avoid. She flipped off it and somersaulted over his head, sending a Hydro Pump towards his back. Despite his large size, her opponent was swift, whirling around and holding his arms up.

He took the blow head on, but then began to glow in a purple light. The Mirror Coat ability threw an energy beam straight back at Gwyen with double the force, slamming her out of the sky and into Firestorm.

"So, are you done yet?" Swampert taunted, glaring at his downed foes. "Huh? Ugh!!"

A small hail suddenly blew into his face. That was followed by a wall of fire that ran between him and the party, forcing him to step back.

"Whew, that was close." Hazuki panted, the glowing Mitra Ankh in her arms.

"Yeah." Jade muttered, lowering his hands. "I'd better not try that again."

"Everyone all right?" Kris called, dashing over together with Nightslice.

"They're tough..." Gwyen groaned, pulling herself to her feet.

"Damn, here they come again!" Storm warned.

(Hello? People? What are we? Invisible?) Bahamut's voice called, Kris' sword rattling in her hands. (OK, maybe we are, but that's no reason to forget!!)

(Calling on us at the last minute, jeez.) Lombadra huffed.

"Yeah, seems like we have to." Kris nodded. "Everyone, let's go!"

"Right!"

"Dragon Meld! Activate!"

"Execute! Dragon Meld!"

"Hakkei! Dragon Meld!" (Release! Dragon Meld!)

By the time Swampert had put out the fires with his Water Gun, the Steel, Fire and Ice Dragons stood in place of the previous group.

"Now, that's an interesting ability." He grinned. "Sacrificing your numbers for a trio of Dragons."

"Hey! We're Legendary Dragons, and we're here to kick your butt!!" Bahamut roared.

"Raguragi, aren't these the ones we were told about?" Grovyle asked. "Those weird creatures with their party, they must be the ones from that other world."

(Who does he think he's calling weird?!) Jade yelled.

"I already figured that out." Raguragi replied. "I'm the leader here, Juncan."

"Jeez, no need to be so sore about it, big blue." Juncan shrugged.

"Males...humph." Asiyu snorted.

"Forget it, we'll take one each and get this done and over with." Lombadra cracked his knuckles. "I think I'll fight that hot chick over there."

Blaziken's two companions instantly stepped away from her as the bird-woman's face went even redder.

"What did you call me, dirtbag?!" She snarled, speaking for the first time, notably with a Russian accent.

"Uh-oh! Big mistake pal!" Juncan cringed. "Ya don't ever call Bashaamo that!!"

With a scream of fury, the Blaziken went straight for Lombadra, who stood his ground as Bahamut and Asiyu rolled away. However, she slid between his legs and kicked him from behind.

"Huh? ARGH!!" Lombadra went face-first into the floor, and was immediately grabbed from behind and lifted up.

"Insulting me is insulting the Unit!" Bashaamo fumed, throwing Lombadra into the wall. "The Unit I've been with since I was born! I grew up on the battlefield, where conflict and victory were my parents. Pride and glory my way of life!"

She walked over, pulled the stunned Dragon up and kicked him in the chest.

"Guargh!!"

"Whoever you are, your insolence is unforgivable!!" She roared, sending a final Blaze Kick to the side of his face.

Lombadra sprawled on the floor near his comrades, spitting out blood from his mouth as he staggered to his feet.

"She's scary." Juncan nudged Raguragi.

"Certainly, but that's why we hired her unit in the first place." Raguragi smirked. "Now, on to business."

The six combatants faced each other in a tense stare down, moments before their battle began.


	9. Shadow of Thy Former Self

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Shadow of Thy Former Self**

By nightdragon0

All at once, the six combatants fired off their various elemental attacks. Hyper Beam from Bahamut, Flamethrower from Lombadra and Bashaamo, Asiyu's and Raguragi's Ice Beams and Juncan's Leaf Blade.

The attacks met in a huge explosion that sent the 3 Legendary Dragons flying into a wall, as well as stirring up a huge amount of dirt.

"Ow...that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do..." Asiyu muttered.

"Grrr...don't worry..." Bahamut pulled himself up. "They couldn't have possibly stood up to that either...huh?!"

When the dust cleared however, their 3 opponents were still standing, Bashaamo and Juncan crouched behind Raguragi, whose large mass was glowing with a purple light.

"Damn, Mirror Coat." Asiyu realized.

"Down already?" Bashaamo taunted. "I was expecting a lot more fight from you."

"You want a fight? I'll give ya one!" Lombadra leapt forward. "Fire Punch!"

"No wait!" Asiyu called.

Bashaamo sidestepped and knocked Lombadra's fist away with a spinning kick. She followed that up by changing legs and sending a Blaze Kick into the Dragon's face. Lombadra wasn't about to be beaten and broke into a furious fistfight with the Fire elemental.

"Something is very strange." Asiyu whispered. "This aura, just doesn't feel right."

(That's what you were saying before.) Hazuki nodded. (But what is it?)

"Feels almost as if..."

"Watch out!" Bahamut tackled the Ice Dragon, dragging her away as a Mud Shot splattered on the spot they'd been standing on. "Forget it! We'll have to figure out our feelings after we take care of these guys!"

Raguragi continued firing off his attacks, forcing Bahamut to start moving again. Using his momentum, the Steel Dragon bounced off a wall and sprang towards the Swampert. Raguragi stood his ground for a surprisingly long time, and just before Bahamut was about to make contact, suddenly disappeared.

"What the?!" Bahamut abruptly halted his charge, causing him to stumble.

All of sudden, Raguragi leapt down from a ledge above, slamming down on Bahamut's back, causing him to scream in pain.

(It looked like he was on Agility, but I don't remember his species being able to do that.) Gwyen remarked. (Asiyu, to your left!)

"RARGHH!!"

Juncan's surprise Leaf Blade attack left a couple of long scars along Asiyu left shoulder. The reptile curled into a ball as he pushed against her body, bouncing away. Asiyu returned fire with Ice Beam, missing her spinning opponent by inches. Juncan charged in for a second run, which Asiyu literally met head on.

However, as the two clashed, Asiyu felt something. A shock of energy...one very familiar.

"What...Grix...?! No..." Asiyu stared, wide eyed.

"Huh...this is...?" Juncan looked down at the left side of his chest. On it was the glowing image of a green colored crystal.

Asiyu's Spirit Crystal seemed to have a reaction to it, appearing also at her chest area and glowing with its icy radiance.

Juncan quickly shoved her away and jumped to the side.

"Hey guys, they're powered by Spirit Crystals too!" Juncan told his comrades, who turned towards him, ceasing their assault and allowing Bahamut and Lombadra to gather beside Asiyu.

* * *

"What do you mean 'too'?!" Bahamut demanded, clutching his side in pain.

"I suppose you haven't figured out, have you?" Raguragi grinned, holding out his hands. Clasped in each one was a Spirit Crystal, one being a watery blue and the other a muddy brown. "Water and Ground Spirit Crystals, courtesy of the Dragons themselves."

Bashaamo had a similar display through her crystals were sky blue and maroon. The powers of Wind (Flying Element) and Fighting. Then Juncan's single crystal was most likely the one for the Grass Element.

(Those are...the elements of the Legendary Dragons who helped us before!) Firestorm gasped.

(How could I ever forget?) Nightslice agreed. (But they were alive...until at least that attack Zian described. Then that means...)

"Well, dead people don't need their powers, do they?" Raguragi laughed. "Or should I say, dead Dragons. Supposedly immortal, until at least these things were removed from them. I should also say that their destruction was quite favorable to our boss."

(They're...working for that dark creature that attacked Zian and the others.) Jade muttered.

(Sick b#tards!) Kris yelled.

"Now, now, no need to get so rude just when this conversation's turning out beneficial for both our sides." Raguragi calmly waved a finger. "Which leads me to this part. We were aware that 7 Dragons once guarded your world, and they've now been taken care of."

_Zian... _Firestorm thought.

"And 9 others perished in the war that split our two worlds apart." Raguragi continued. "The Legendary Dragons of Steel, Fire and Ice were amongst the latter 9. Yet, you stand here before us. Care to give us some insight before we tear you limb from limb?"

That seemed to shock the 3 Dragons to a point of utter disbelief and astonishment. So much that none of them were able to speak a single word.

"Cat got your tongue?" Raguragi smirked.

"Hey, remember that these things store memories, sort of like a computer?" Juncan tapped his comrade on the shoulder, indicating his green Spirit Crystal.

"No...it's..." Bahamut staggered.

"Ohhh, so that's it." Raguragi nodded. "That's why you needed those other bunch of creatures to give you a physical form. Because all of you are nothing more than memories, stored within the Spirit Crystals. Fascinating what a human and a Pokemon can do with it."

"That's nothing to be happy about. They're scattered all around this world." Juncan began. "And we not only have to find them all, but..."

Bashaamo stomped on his foot, silencing the Grass type at once.

"That's right, enough talk." Raguragi agreed. "Well Dragons, ready to die...**again**?"

(Guys, snap out of it!) Kris ordered. (Don't let them mess with your minds!)

Unfortunately, all Bahamut, Lombadra and Asiyu did was back away from their approaching opponents.

(Guys!)

Bashaamo was in the process of raising her fist when she abruptly dropped to her knees, screaming in pain.

(NO! I...won't...let you...use me...like this!) A voice cried out.

A huge shimmering form materialized in front of the three villains, shinning with such intensity that it forced the group to shield their eyes.

"Arist!" Lombadra recognized.

The image of the large gray Wyvern before them was indeed the once time Legendary Dragon of the Flying attribute. Only now his body didn't look nearly as good.

His leathery wings were in tattered, ripped up so badly that we would never fly again. His body was scarred and bleeding in multiple places. The flesh around his left knee was torn and hanging loose. There was also a gaping wound in his right side, with several cracked ribs showing, protruding through the outer scales. The right side of his lizard head was badly burnt, with the eye missing.

In fact, he could've easily passed off as the living dead.

(Get out of here! Run!) The horrific image of Arist screamed. (You can't win, not now! Get...stronger...RRAAGGHHH...Zian...tell...we're not all...not all...dead!)

"What's going on?!" Raguragi demanded.

"His wandering soul is communicating with them through his Spirit Crystal." Bashaamo replied, clutching her head in rage. "Got to...get control!"

(I can't...move on to the afterlife.) Arist managed. (Soul...still...trapped...near...body...)

"Let's go! Now!" Asiyu urged.

"Yeah, take cover!" Bahamut ordered, firing his arm mounted blasters, at full power, into the ceiling. His action caused the entire area to start shaking as huge rocks fell from above.

"Arist!" Lombadra cried as Asiyu dragged him away.

(Go...just run...now!) Arist's voice faded away.

"This way!" Bahamut leapt up to the hole in the ceiling and pulled himself through, followed closely by his friends.

"Grrr...another time then!" Raguragi snarled, turning to his comrades. "Let's get out of here before we're buried alive!"

* * *

Several minutes later, the 3 Legendary Dragons stood on an adjacent slope, glancing over at the mountain, which they'd caused a good section of, to collapse. It wasn't a very tall mountain, but the damage to the surrounding forest was nevertheless, significant.

(That was some revelation, eh guys?) Jade spoke.

The 3 Dragons remained silent.

(Hey, snap out of it you people!) Nightslice shouted. (It's not the end of the world!)

"That's easy for you to say." Bahamut muttered sorely.

(I...oh...I'm sorry.)

"Don't be. It's just that...I should've known all along." The Steel Dragon shook his head. "We are nothing more than memories. The real me is long dead, long gone."

"Being a shadow of your former self, it's disturbing." Asiyu added in.

"Then, what are we now, really?" Lombadra looked down at his armored, part metallic body. "No more than one of your computer programs?"

(No, you can believe what you want, but I don't think that's true.) Kris spoke up. (I've spent enough time with you guys, or inside you guys, to see that you still think and feel. Just like the rest of us.)

"I..." Bahamut started.

(She's right you know.) Nightslice continued. (I've seen many good people die, and not all of them get a second chance at life. Don't you see? That's just what you have now. Even if you are made up of memories, those are important too. And you're making new memories everyday, isn't that a good enough reason to carry on?)

"Hmm..."

(Let's put it this way.) Kris said firmly. (We now have 3 main goals: one, to find the other Legendary Dragons and reclaim any lost Spirit Crystals. Two, to destroy the creature that took them out. And three, to figure out a way back to our own world. But I don't think my group by itself will be able to do it. So...I want to ask if you could lend us a claw?)

The 3 Dragons exchanged glances and then nodded.

"Like you, we too want to assist our brethren." Bahamut replied. "And we also want to find our true reason for being here. But I don't think my group can do it alone. So, could you lend us a hand?"

(Decided then.)

(Yuck, mushiness.) Gwyen sighed.

(Hey, Lombadra, are you crying?) Firestorm asked.

"What?! What the hell gave you that outrageous idea?!" The Fire Dragon demanded.

(We see through your eyes remember? And they're all watered up.)

"No, I just got something it my eye, that's all!"

(Don't need to be embarrassed big guy.) Jade cut in. (Firestorm looked a lot worse than you, back at that time when I accidentally backed that pickup truck over his tail...)

(SHUT UP!)

(You ran over Firestorm's tail?) Hazuki gasped. (Wow, that must've hurt.)

(Erm, guys. I just thought of something.) Nightslice commented. (Someone's got to tell Zian about...well...all this.)

At that, the 3 Legendary Dragons vanished in a flash of light, leaving the 3 humans and 3 Pokemon in a heap.

"Thanks for your support." Nightslice muttered sarcastically, pulling himself out of the pile.

"We'd better go back to the village." Kris decided, glancing at her exhausted group. "After we get some rest that is."

* * *

"Riot, you don't have to come you know."

"And let you walk all the way?" The Aerodactyl huffed.

"No, I'm worried about you not being fully recovered." Nala replied, leaning close to her partner's ear from her lying position on the flyer's back.

"And I'm also worried about you running off on your own. Besides, those doctors told me that I was fine."

"They recommended you rest for a while more, at least until the others came back."

"Speaking about the others..."

"Yeah, I know." Nala nodded. "I found a really interesting book in the village library containing some scriptures about this ancient beast that might help us. But nobody in the village was able to translate the ancient text, and I want to find somebody who can."

"You sure seemed in a hurry to leave, considering it's about 4am in the morning." Riot commented with a yawn. "Especially with Yusia back in the village."

"She's safe enough there. I told her we'd be back soon."

The two soared above the treetops, keeping high enough to be out of danger of accidentally hitting them. They were headed towards a mountain, in the opposite direction from the path Kris' group had taken, where an old hermit was said to live.

"Yes, it's about the book..."

"You stole it?!"

"No! I made a photocopy of the entire book." Nala tapped a roll of papers strapped to her belt pouch. "Besides, Cadalyn said that she would gladly lend it to us any time."

"I don't think she meant that literally." Riot sighed. "Well, we're here."

The flyer changed her course with the winds, circling around the area.

"Look, I think we can land on that ledge there." Nala pointed. "After that, we should probably wait till sunrise, where we'll be able to see better."

"Roger that." Riot replied, swooping in for a landing. "Still, the others won't be too happy with us, will they?"

"They'll be fine, I'm sure of it..."

* * *

"They did what?!" Kris gasped.

The rest of the party had arrived later in the morning only to find Nala and Riot missing. Cadalyn had met them at the village square, where the 3 humans started a discussion.

"I'm really sorry, but they just ran off on their own." Cadalyn bowed.

"She said she was going to be back soon." Yusia agreed, stepping up to the group.

"We're not blaming you, we're just surprised."

"Nala tends to do that a lot." Hazuki added in. "She and Riot can take care of themselves."

"I can't reach her on the com-link either." Jade walked over, tapping the black device strapped to his wrist. "Too much interference."

"There is a thunder storm brewing up." Cadalyn told them.

"Yeah, we can tell from the looks of the sky. Storm and Nightslice only managed to reach Zian thanks to the equipment you have in the village."

"It's not the most technologically advanced, but I'm glad it helps." Cadalyn smiled.

"We'd better get inside before the storm hits." Kris said to everyone. "And we'd better check with the boys and see if Zian managed to find anything."

* * *

"And well, that's basically what happened." Firestorm finished.

"...I see." Zian nodded. "Well, that explanation about the Dragon Melding does make perfect sense. I don't think your opponents were lying to you."

There was a hiss of static before Nightslice's voice came over the com-link.

"Seems we're out of clues at the moment." The Scizor said. "We're also stuck here until this storm lets up, which will be when?"

"Tomorrow, according to the weather forecasts." Zian replied, taking a glance at his computer screen.

"And about your friends..."

"No, you don't need to apologize. This just happened, and I know you're doing your best." Zian stared down at his chest, rising and falling with his breathing. "At least, there's hope that some of them are alive, out there somewhere. Erm, anyway come back to the lab once you can. I've been doing some research and I think I've got some leads."

"Which are?" Firestorm asked excitedly.

"I believe that some Spirit Crystals, while being thrown into this alternate world, were also thrown back in time. Hence, I looked up a bunch of articles about ancient artifacts, old myths and legends, strange sightings and such. You guys can check them out and hopefully find out more."

"Hey cool! Is this like one of those computer games where we get a bunch of missions to do? OW!!"

There were sounds of struggling on the other side before Nightslice responded.

"Sorry, Jade's been spoiling him way too much. But I think it sounds like a good plan."

"One thing, Kaiser's Forces apparently entered this world and recruited troops only recently. That's why I think they haven't found all the Spirit Crystals yet."

"Kaiser's Forces?" Kris' voice came over the line. She'd just entered the room as well.

"I know, you guys destroyed Kaiser before. But there's just no other way I could describe that evil force I felt. It has to be him, or at least something close to him."

"The Knight Blazer...my evil alter ego..." Nightslice whispered so softly that it went practically unheard by all.

"What was that?" Kris asked.

"Oh, nothing, just clearing my throat. Ahem."

"Guys, your transmission's breaking up." Zian cut in. "The storm must be hitting pretty badly."

"Yeah, you're right." Nightslice agreed. "We'll see you when we get back them. Over and out."

Zian leaned his head back against the chair as the com-link clicked off. The rain was already beating against the room's closed windows, making rhythmic thuds.

He had just realized how exhausted he was, having worked through much of the night. Besides the computer and keyboard on the table, there was the microphone he'd been speaking through, the electronic pointer he used to 'type' and a couple cups of...what was that? Coffee.

He'd wanted so much to be able to do something, something to make it up to the rest.

At itch on his shoulder immediately reminded him of own disability, when his arm didn't respond to his mind's calling. He knew Epsilon would answer to any request, but Zian was content with rubbing his chin against the affected shoulder.

Utterly pitiful state to be seen in, he'd told himself over and over again. But to think about it, his friends, the ones he'd left behind, could be in worse conditions. Zian hadn't seen the ghostly apparition of Arist, but he still shuddered at the thought.

The Dragon closed his eyes tightly. What he really needed now was some rest.

* * *

"On second thought, I really should've stayed at the village!" Riot yelled over the pouring rain.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence." Nala replied sarcastically.

The pair pressed themselves against the rocky wall, carefully making their way up the narrow slope. It certainly wasn't Riot's forte, both walking in the rain and on the path, but she managed it with Nala's help.

"If I'd known it was going to start pouring this much, I could've skipped the rest period!" Nala remarked.

"If I remember, you were the one who fell asleep. And guess who had to wake you up when it started raining?"

"All right, all right. My mistake. I'm sorry, OK?"

The two continued on until Nala spotted an alcove at the side of the mountain. The black haired girl was gesturing towards it when a sudden flash of lightning, accompanied by the crackle of thunder, startled her.

Nala screamed and dropped to her knees, covering her head. After a while, she realized that Riot had her wings wrapped around her body.

"Hey Riot...I'm fine. Thanks." Nala muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"Come on, let's get under cover." Riot urged, pushing her partner into the alcove.

They were still wet, something inevitable in a downpour of this intensity, but at least they were shielded from the worst of the storm.

"Guess I slipped up back there." Nala sighed. "It could've been worse if you weren't there."

"That's what friends are for, right?"

"I know...but Kris probably wouldn't have made that mistake. She could do things a lot better, even when she was my age."

"You shouldn't keep comparing yourself to her, Nala." As Riot spoke, another bolt of lightning flashed outside.

"Yeah...it's just that we went through pretty similar things. Team Rocket ruined our lives and such, you know. But she's just this perfect leader. Most of us barely knew her after the battle with Kaiser, and yet she was able to bring us together during the Chimera Incident. Now..."

"Oh, I see. You're jealous about Kris' and the other's new Dragon Melding abilities."

"Huh? I...erm...well..."

"Don't need to go beating round the bush. Aside from it being practically written all over your face, I've known you long enough to tell."

"I guess so. I really want to be useful in this situation." Nala turned her head to look out from their hiding place, just as a flash of lightning lit up the area. "Wait! Look there!"

"Where?"

"I'm pointing towards it. When the next flash of lightning comes..."

Soon, Riot saw what her partner had been pointing at. Partially concealed by the rocks ahead was a sturdy wooden hut.

"That has to be where the hermit lives!" Nala said excitedly. "Come on!"

With Riot close behind, Nala dashed up to the hut and knocked on the door.

"Hello? Anybody he—whoa!" The wooden door was not locked and swung open from Nala's touch. "Erm...anybody?"

Nala pulled out a lighter from her pocket and flicked it on, only to find an empty room. An old hammock was strung up in a corner, a desk across from it and a stove next to the door. However, there was also a large amount of dust and spider webs covering everything.

"From the looks of this place, no one's been here for many years." Riot remarked, moving into the hut.

"I have to agree with you." Nala lit a candle on the table and used its light to get a better look around. "Whoever used to live here also seems to have left in a big hurry."

Just then, a slight glitter caught Nala's attention. She reached down and pulled out a candle stand from beneath a pile of rubble. It stood nearly as tall as Nala and was both still shiny and rather heavy.

"This thing's still in perfect condition after all this time?" Riot wondered.

Nala was examining the candle stand when she found a piece of parchment tied to its base.

"Riot, take a look at this!" Nala unrolled the parchment and placed it down on the table.

The writing was indecipherable to both of them, but fortunately there were also sketches. One image was of the hut's position on mountain. Several arrows indicated location of a tunnel on the slope below them.

"That would seem to be the alcove we were taking shelter in just now." Riot nodded.

The final sketch was that of a circle of candle stands and a thunder storm.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Nala grinned. "We just might've stumbled onto something interesting here!"

* * *

"The boat will be docking in about 20 minutes. They can't go any further because of the storm. We'll have to walk the rest of the way." Abetos said, entering their small private cabin.

"Got it. Thanks partner." Alken nodded.

Abetos then jumped up onto the seat, curling himself into a comfortable position. As comfortable as he could get as least, with all the waves rocking their boat.

It surprised Alken about how ignorant this world's population was. As a human in this Pokemon inhabited world, he was pretty different, and yet was nobody paid any attention to him.

_It's a good thing, I guess. Everyone's only concerned about minding their own business. _He thought.

Just in case, Alken still wore a brown cloak with a hood that covered his entire body.

"Has our Dragon shown you anything new yet?" Abetos asked, snapping Alken out of his thoughts.

"Skiar? No, not yet." Alken patted the heavy object on his lap.

It was pouch specially designed to fit around a human-shaped Pokemon's thigh, so it suited Alken nicely. Held within the pouch was a machine gun, an MP5, something he'd picked up after knocking out a pair of would-be Sandslash muggers.

The Spirit Crystal he carried had somehow merged with the weapon, altering its design so that it was shaped like a Dragon's head, with the bullets being fired from its 'mouth'. Another thing was that the bullets were changed into special black colored energy bursts.

Skiar seemed to have chosen that weapon to dwell in, for reasons unknown. Not that either could get him to say anyway. The Darkness elemental was always silent, and only communicated with the pair through images and visions he sent into their minds.

Alken and Abetos would then have to figure out the rest from there. They'd done well so far and the path was leading them to a cavern close to the Northern coast of the Sootopolis Island.

"I really wonder what he's looking for." Abetos muttered. "But I have to say, his mind's eye is very well developed."

"Mind's eye?"

"You know that he suffers from the same condition as me, right?"

"Wait, he's blind too?"

"In a certain sense. You've told me that any images he sends you are in black and white. It's because his other sense are so strong, possibly with the help of a sixth sense, that he can sort of form pictures without being able to see. He gives me that impression at least."

"Hmm...I always thought those were his memories of the past." Alken replied. "Its like he's searching for something, but what? And why?"

"With him, who knows?" Abetos nodded, before laying his head down.

"You've got that right, partner."

* * *

"This is it! Through here!" Nala called.

After several minutes of clawing through the rock and dirt, Nala and Riot found a hidden tunnel at the back of the small cave. Upon squeezing through, they'd emerged into a much larger chamber.

It was almost pitch dark, lit only by the candle they carried. But even in the dim light, Nala realized there was a circle of 9 high candle stands positioned in the middle of the room. There was a burnt out candle in each of the stands, which Nala lit, considerably brightening the cavern.

With the additional light, both could see that there were two openings in the ceiling, where the rainwater was falling into their chamber and flowing out through cracks in the floor.

"This structure doesn't seem natural." Riot growled.

"Look, I think there's a spot here for the candle stand we found!" Nala called.

Indeed, the candle stands looked very similar and Riot made no protests in dragging the stand over, helping Nala to position it.

"Guess we'll learn what the big secret's about once we light this one." Nala indicated the candle stand they'd just put up.

"Better be on guard too. There's no telling what might happen." Riot cautioned.

"Right, I know that. Well, here we go." Nala fitted her candle into its stand and sprinted back to Riot's position, beside the entrance.

For several minutes, nothing happened.

Then, two blinding bolts of lightning sudden flew in through the openings, striking the center of the circle. Both girls cried out in shock, shielding their eyes from the light. After that, it felt as they were being lifted up and spun around with the wind.

All they could do, however, was scream.


	10. Each One’s Path, Each One’s Journey

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Each One's Path, Each One's Journey**

By nightdragon0

"Hey, will you wait up there?!"

"Storm, why do you have to follow me?" Nightslice growled, visibly annoyed as his Charizard companion came up behind him. "I have a communicator around my arm if you're worried about me running off."

"Well, if you're allowed to run off early in the morning, so am I!"

"Oh fine." Nightslice broke into a sprint, then began leaping from tree to tree.

Firestorm followed close behind, though from the air, until they reached a raised area by the foot of the mountain. The early morning air was cool after the night's thunderstorm, and dew glistened on many leaves. Nightslice paused there and gazed up into the mountain for a long time.

"What's on your mind?" Firestorm queried.

"Do you remember the old times? Kris and the two of us? Before all this?"

"Of course. You think I'd ever forget?"

"How were you like then? And how about now?"

"Huh? I..." That caught Firestorm by surprise. "Well, I suppose I'm pretty easy going nowadays. I've had time to relax, enjoy life and do what I want to."

"Despite the hard past you've had."

"That's all history now." Firestorm said.

"Perhaps for you. My past, or at least a certain part of it, still lives to haunt me." Nightslice shook his head. "I've always gotten myself so caught up in the current events, current battles, fighting for the 'greater good', that I forget. I even hide it sometimes. But it's always there, and will be as long as I live."

"You're thinking about what they said yesterday about Kaiser's Forces?"

"More about my evil alter ego, the Knight Blazer. I remember how I saw his image even as we stabbed Kaiser's heart during that final battle. I just can't convince myself that he's really gone. Then, we get thrown into this world...and those three soldiers the Legendary Dragons fought...they gave me that same feeling...I'm just so sure that it's him."

"One thing about you is that you dwell way too much on the past." Firestorm snapped. "And it's about you and yourself. How about the rest of us?"

"I..."

"Ok, maybe that was a bit too much." Firestorm shook back to his normal, optimistic tone. "Even if that's the case, we'll vanquish the Knight Blazer of whoever it is again. With or without the powers we used to have. We all have things we're fighting for too."

"Haha, yeah." Nightslice took a seat, leaning against a nearby tree. "I was never good at hiding my feelings. Thanks pal."

"Not a problem." Firestorm winked, dropping into a seating position as well.

_Hiding my feelings... _The Charizard thought. _You may be obvious when you do that, but I'm really the one who's putting on an act. Dracia... _

She was a Dragonite who'd fought alongside them before. However, the battles had taken too much of a toll on her mentally, and she'd run away, retreated into isolation. Storm had wanted many times to go look for her, but...he just couldn't, somehow...

* * *

"Wow..." Riot muttered, glancing around. "This place seems...different, somewhat."

"Yeah, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Nala commented, pulling herself to her feet.

The cave they stood in was different from the one before. This one had a stream running through it, with the soft sounds of waves echoing from the 'light at the end of the tunnel'.

"This stream's salty." Nala said, tasting a drop of the water to confirm their suspicions. "We're by the sea."

"That thing we found just might've been a teleporter." Riot remarked. "Take a look at this."

Beneath her talons was an odd series of symbols carved into the cavern floor that shimmered with a soft, purple light.

"We must've activated it." Nala nodded. "Well, let's go outside and take a look at where we are..."

BAM!!

The entire cavern shook, causing the two to stumble.

"What was that?!" Nala gasped.

"Hard to tell. Could be someone causing them for all we know." Riot replied.

More tremors soon shook the area, only much more violently. The two had to dodge sharp rocks falling from the ceiling as the searched for cover.

"There! Over there!" Nala pointed to an alcove partially hidden by a cluster of rocks.

The two dove into the hidden path...only to have it collapse beneath their feet and send them plunging down in panic.

Fortunately, the drop didn't last more than a few seconds, and Riot hit the lower level hard, leaving an impression of her body in the floor when Nala landed on top of her.

"Ow..." Riot moaned.

"Thanks, that was close." Nala panted.

"I know I'm the one with the armored body, but please get off my stomach before I start puking."

"Oh, sorry!"

The pain eventually passed and Riot pulled herself up to stand beside Nala as the pair glanced around.

"I think we're lost." Nala said.

Just then, a bloodcurdling howl rang throughout the cavern.

"And in trouble! Get on my back Nala! I should have enough room to fly!"

Nala immediately complied, having learnt to trust her partner's instincts. Riot had barely managed to take flight in the large cavern before a huge figure burst out from the ground beneath them.

It was a golem in a roughly humanoid form, just with no facial features and no obvious head. It was Registeel, a creature with a body of iron, who gave chase with an astonishingly fast speed.

"Oh crap! Not another one of these things!" Nala cried. "Riot! Go and don't look back!"

A burst of electrical energy flew right past, missing by inches. Riot managed to dodge a couple more shots, but Registeel caused another rockslide by slamming the walls.

The pair was thrown out of the sky and landed with a hard thud on the stony floor. Nala and Riot staggered unsteadily to their feet and found Registeel standing over them.

"Get down! Now!" A familiar voice rang out.

"Who? Ugh!" Nala was tackled from behind as a Hyper Beam flew right over her head.

It was met with the black energy of the Shadow Ball ability, which neutralized both attacks.

"Nice job Abetos! That was rather close!"

"Alken!" Nala gasped, staring into the eyes of her savior. "You really are here too!"

"Let's talk about that later shall we?" The older human said, drawing a gun. "We have to take care of this thing first! Abetos, Flamethrower!"

The two simultaneously attacked, Abetos spraying their opponent with flames while Alken fired his gun. Surprisingly, the weapon shot off bolts of dark energy instead of normal bullets.

Yet, the golem barely seemed to have any reaction to it.

"Move it or lose it!" Riot grabbed both humans and flew them out the next Hyper Beam's range.

"It's strong..." Abetos growled as Riot landed beside him.

"We'll have to take it. I have a feeling it's what Skiar sent us here for." Alken raised his weapon. "Nala, here, take these."

Alken tossed her a pair of Beretta pistols. They weren't magically enhanced like his MP5, but it was better than Nala not having a weapon at all.

"Remember how to use them?"

The familiar click told Alken that Nala knew what she was doing.

"Good! Here he comes again!" Riot warned, sending off a Fire Blast.

Even under the combined assault of the four, Registeel continued moving forward until Nala hit an orange spot on its front. The creature immediately let off a metallic screech as some black liquid flowed from that 'wound'.

"That must be his weak spot!" Nala called.

"That's all we need to know. Let's finish this Abetos!" Alken raised his gun above his head. "Hoero! Dragon Meld!" (Roar! Dragon Meld!)

* * *

"Yusia, you sense anything else yet?" Kris asked.

"Erm, no. I just felt that something bad might happen if we stayed there."

"She may not know, but I think we should trust her." Hazuki nodded.

"Raguragi and his gang were after us then, so they might come again." Gwyen agreed. "It's better that we're out here so we don't unintentionally put the village in danger."

"Hear that guys?" Jade spoke into his communicator.

"We read you." Nightslice said from the other end. "Storm and I are on our way. Just keep moving and we'll catch up."

"Right then. Over and out."

The party of 5 fell silent as the communicator clicked off. They had left the village a couple of hours ago on Yusia's suggestion. All she could say was that she had strange feelings about something that was going to happen.

And something was...

Kris noticed a glittering metal object in the ground and signaled for the group to stop. She edged forward and poked at it with her sword.

(Doesn't seem dangerous.) Bahamut's voice said from within the weapon.

"But..." Kris then grabbed it and pulled...to find out that it was a miniature antenna. "What's this...oh no! Everyone, on defense now!"

No sooner had she said that did a Cacturne burst out from a nearby bush and attack, knocking Kris down.

"Ambush!" Gwyen realized, firing an Ice Beam at another emerging Cacturne.

"Damn, they must've been monitoring the frequencies!" Jade added in.

"Well, took you long enough to figure out." Raguragi stepped out onto the pathway, along with Bashaamo by his side. "Let's cut the formalities short this time. You know what we want, so you can hand over the Spirit Crystals or..."

"And you ain't getting them!" Gwyen declared, stepping out in front. "Hazuki, ready?"

"Ok, let's go! Hakkei! Dragon M..."

Raguragi and Bashaamo both let off their water and fire attacks respectively. Both beams exploded in a huge cloud of steam and dirt, with Hazuki and Gwyen disappearing from sight.

"Hah, that did it!" Raguragi laughed triumphantly.

"I don't think so!" A fierce female voice roared.

That was when Asiyu the Ice Dragon shot out from the smoke in a spinning Rollout attack, and knocked Raguragi into a tree. Bashaamo reacted with a Blaze Kick, smashing into Asiyu's back.

Meanwhile, Kris had managed to leapt up, despite having two Cacturne jump at her. In a series of quick motions, she slashed one away and kicked the other one off his feet.

(Damn, I can help without your partner!) Bahamut growled.

His sudden shout however, distracted Kris for a second, and a third Cacturne shot several needles into her right shoulder.

"ARGH!!"

"Kris!" Jade ran forward and shoved Grass/Dark type out of the way.

Yet another however, attacked Jade from behind, throwing him against Kris and landing them both in a heap. The Cacturne then turned and moved towards Yusia.

Terrified, the young girl screamed, raising her hands...and the Cacturne went flying, thrown back by some unseen psychic force, even though he was theoretically immune to psychic attacks.

"That power..." Raguragi looked up from his battle with Asiyu. "Could it be? The Child of Legendaries? She may just be the one we need!"

"Yusia! RARGH!!" Distracted by Raguragi running off, Asiyu took a hard blow from Bashaamo's fist.

"This won't hurt a bit!" Raguragi grabbed Yusia from behind and held a piece of cloth to her mouth and nose. It was apparently soaked with some sleep-inducing chemicals, and Yusia quickly passed out.

"NNOO!!" Both Asiyu and Hazuki were screaming, but Bashaamo first threw the Ice Dragon over and kicked her in the ribs till she was near unconsciousness.

"We should take the others out now!" Bashaamo snarled.

"No, I don't want to risk damage to this child!" Raguragi lifted Yusia over his shoulder. "Troops, fall back!"

"What?!"

"Don't fret. With the girl, we'll be able to get what we want." Raguragi smirked. "Hostages always equals a ransom. Hehe..."

Asiyu's eyes were half open, but she (with Hazuki and Gwyen) managed to catch a glimpse of Raguragi departing before darkness overtook them.

* * *

Where Alken and Abetos once stood was now the intimidating Skiar, the Dark Dragon. Though still pale in comparison to larger than normal golem, the humanoid warrior flashed across the area and slashed at Registeel with both claws and blades.

Nala and Riot stared in awe as Skiar leapt around, lashing out at Registeel weak 'eye' points. The golem however, was quickly learning Skiar's strategy and began to block the attacks.

Skiar was forced to leap away as the golem unleashed its Ancientpower move, throwing chunks of rock and stone everywhere. Nala and Riot also had to duck, dodging behind a large boulder.

In an attempt to confuse his opponent, Skiar held up his hands in a ninja style motion, using Double Team and creating multiple illusionary copies of himself.

He managed to strike with several punches in this method, but the golem soon stopped trying to follow his motions and stood still.

"Is it beaten?" Nala wondered.

"No, it's locking-on to you guys!" Riot warned. "Abetos, get out of the way!"

Too late, a Hyper Beam flew right into Skiar's face, sending him flying into the wall with a loud crunch. Stones and rock fragments flew everywhere.

"Oh no!" Nala gasped.

(Get...out of here...run...) Alken's voice sounded hurt.

"No, we can't do that!"

Despite his injuries, Skiar jumped forward and attacked, perhaps sensing Alken's desire to protect Nala. The Dragon managed a quick cut to one of the golem's orange 'eyes', but was abruptly grabbed in one of its huge hands.

"Alken!" Without thinking, Nala rushed forward. But something else caught her eye.

Skiar's final attack had snapped a small, glittering piece off Registeel. Both combatants were definitely weakened, but neither was ready to concede defeat yet.

Instinctively, Nala caught the object as it flew towards her and stared at it in shock.

"Is that..." Riot began.

"A Spirit Crystal?!" Nala cried excitedly.

The maroon colored crystal shimmered, then reacted with the gun Nala still had in the same hand. The pair of pistols both changed, taking the shape of a Dragon's head, together with glowing white eyes at the sides. The top could also be flipped open to form a small dagger for close range attacks.

Nala fired both weapons, realizing they now shot off maroon energy rings, which struck Registeel, distracting it and allowing Skiar to escape. The creature then turned towards Nala and Riot.

"It's out time now!" Riot growled.

"Yeah, I've been waiting for this." Nala crossed her guns. "Come, gimme a cool Dragon! Dragon Meld! Unleash!"

The background the appeared in their minds was a rocky mountain. Nala stood at the top, signaled to Riot, then leapt off, aiming to land on her partner's back. However, when the two met, they were both engulfed by bright lights.

The roughly 8 foot Dragon that took shape somewhat reassembled a hydra with limbs and three cobra-style heads.

Dark brown scales covered the entire upper body. Several black stripes ran from the heads down to the tail. The lower belly and throat side of the necks were also in a lighter shade of tangerine.

The huge, thick tail split into three long and thin sections. A large pair of brown pair of leathery wings also emerged.

Too heavy to walk upright, the Dragon stood on all fours, with the belly close to the ground. There were four thick and muscular legs at each side with three toes on each. Their knees 'bent backwards', like a Tyrannosaurus'.

All three heads revealed their brown eyes, forked tongues and two cobra fangs. Engraved in black on the center head was the Kanji Doku, Poison.

"Venom's Retribution...Erizar!"

With Registeel right in its sight, the new Dragon stomped on the ground, creating an earthquake that shook the golem off balance. Erizar took the advantage and sprayed its opponent with venomous breaths from all three heads.

But Registeel seemed to shake off the attack as if it were nothing. Skiar quickly rushed in and knocked it aside.

(It's a Steel type, Poison attacks won't work.) Abetos warned.

As if in response, Erizar turned and swung its tail, smashing Registeel down as it tried to recover. The serpent-like Dragon then leapt up and slammed its body on top of the golem's, causing the latter to explode in a shower of metallic bits.

Skiar stepped up beside the new Dragon and folded his arms, impressed.

"Wow..." The right head gasped. "That was intense."

"Yeah...wow..." The left head responded. "Huh?!"

"It's me, Nala. Erm, that you Riot?"

"I think so at least. But then..."

In the form of the Poison Elemental Dragon, Nala (as the right head) and Riot (as the left head) turned and made eye contact with the center head.

"Yes, perhaps you two should tell me what you're doing in MY body."

Though that last voice was also feminine, it belonged to neither of the two, but was indeed that of the Legendary Dragon, Erizar.

* * *

"What was that?!" Firestorm gasped as the two glanced around the forest.

Seconds earlier, they'd heard some sort of loud, long roar, though it was impossible to tell what it was or which direction it came from for that matter.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about it." Nightslice leaned his head close to his communicator. "Kris, come in. Jade? Hey, anybody there?!"

There was no answer and Nightslice was about to try again when a series of seed bullets shot past. Several of them hit his arm, damaging the communicator and causing it to explode.

"RARRRGH!!" The Scizor dropped to his knees, holding his left arm protectively over his wound.

"Who?!" Firestorm looked around, but the forest remained still.

There was a flicker of movement, and when Firestorm turned around, the 'sniper' fired again. Fortunately, the Bullet Seeds missed by a hair.

"Damn, where is he?" Firestorm wondered.

He shot a quick glance to Nightslice, who gestured upwards with his eyes, apparently pointing to the treetops. The shadow then moved to another position and attacked again, forcing both to dodge.

Firestorm made a circular motion with one claw and clenched the other. Grinning, Nightslice nodded, realizing it was a tactic they'd learnt a long time ago.

At the same time, the pair spun round and cut down the tree directly behind them. They then moved in a clockwise direction, knocking the closest trees down, and were quickly rewarded by a scream.

Juncan the Grovyle fell out of a tree, hitting the ground face-first.

"Urgh...ouch...that hurt..."

"You again!" Firestorm snarled. "What's your plan this time?!"

"Me? Nothing to do with you!" Juncan pointed a finger, grasping an object hanging around his neck with the other hand. "I was just going to use this Grass Key to open the secret passage and...doh!!"

"Someone obviously can't keep his trap shut."

"Hey, are you insulting me, scale belly?!"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Storm replied sarcastically.

"Erm, I see...uh...hey!" Juncan fumed. "I was just gonna shake you up a little, but now I'm mad!"

"You and what army?"

"Hey, your Dragons couldn't even take us! What makes you think you can? If I were you, I'd be running off scared right about now."

"Well, I'll admit we underestimated you then. But this time, we're prepared! RROOOAAARRRR!!"

Firestorm and Nightslice snapped into fighting stances. Juncan barely had enough time to bring up his Leaf Blades before Nightslice attacked with a series of kicks.

Juncan blocked several of the attacks and then rolled under a tail swing from Firestorm. Nightslice took him down with a sweeping slash (by lowering his body low to the ground). Firestorm immediately grabbed the fallen reptile by his shoulders and hurled him into a nearby tree, the impact snapping the tree in half.

"Weird, he doesn't seem to have as much energy as he did before." Firestorm commented.

"It's as I thought, there is a limit to the power they can draw from the Spirit Crystals, just like us." Nightslice explained. "Once it's spent, it'll be a while before they can use it again. Isn't that right?"

The last phrase was addressed to Juncan, who was now shaking nervously. The Grovyle immediately turned and ran. Firestorm quickly shot a fireball into his back, while Nightslice dashed forward and tackled Juncan from another side, sending him flying down a steep slope.

In a series of moans and screams, Juncan rolled down, hitting just about every obstacle in the way before knocking himself out against a large boulder.

"How did you guess that?" Firestorm asked, triumphantly looking down at their fallen foe.

"It was something about the way he was trying to intimidate us." Nightslice replied. "He didn't really sound confident when he was taunting us, like he was hiding something. And when he decided to run just now, it was a dead giveaway."

"They're not as unbeatable as they seem. It's some good news that everyone will be glad to hear." Firestorm laughed.

"By the way, I got this key off him. What was it? The Grass Key?" Nightslice brought up the small key, holding its strap gently between his pincers.

"Let me see that." Firestorm snatched for the glittering object.

"Hey, hold on!"

The key fell and hit the grass beneath their feet. Almost immediately, the key magically flew back up into the air, glowing with a green light. It then shot past them and flew further into the forest.

Nodding to each other, the duo followed, trailing the floating key until it embedded itself in the bark of a thick old tree surrounded by a clump of bushes. Not knowing what to make of it, Firestorm and Nightslice cautiously approached the affected tree.

However, as they stepped into the bushes, both were suddenly engulfed by a green light.

* * *

"Whoa..." Nightslice blinked.

One moment, they were standing in a forest. The next instant, Firestorm and himself were in sort of a 'tunnel', formed by dozens in intertwining vines and greenery. There was light streaming in through one end of the tunnel, and the other end was blocked off by a similar tangle of plants.

Firestorm retrieved the key from the 'wall', which it had been stuck into.

"This must be whatever secret Juncan was trying to open." Firestorm decided. "Guess this is the entrance."

"I wonder what he was looking for?"

"Well, only one way to find out. Come on, let's take a look."

The pair walked side by side through the plant tunnel and emerged into a densely forested area. It was filled with all sorts of exotic plant life, many of which neither had ever seen before.

"Do you feel like we're being watched?" Nightslice suddenly asked.

"No, there's only miles of plants around here, it seems." Firestorm replied, turning his head to look around. "Why?"

"Oh, forget it."

Firestorm continued walking on, but Nightslice was looking uneasily over his shoulder every 5 seconds or so. The Scizor just couldn't shake the feeing, despite Firestorm's confidence.

The forest path soon opened into a large clearing, causing both to gasp in awe.

In the center was the largest tree either had even seen. Its top wasn't even visible through the foliage, though there was sunlight streaming down. And strangely, directly onto the ancient tree.

Its roots were also thick, strong and branched out in every direction.

"I wonder what its doing here?" Firestorm said out loud, stepping forward.

"Perhaps we should go." Nightslice suddenly said. "Something seems wrong. I just realized that there are absolutely no other sounds about. No other Pokemon at all."

"Hey! Look!" Firestorm pointed.

There seemed to be a glowing object by the tree's roots. As Firestorm moved forward to have a closer look, a couple of vines suddenly sprang to life, shooting out towards him.

"Watch it!" Nightslice leapt forward and slashed them apart. However, more vines emerged from simply everywhere...the ground, the trees, plants...

"I think you're right! Let's get outta here!" Firestorm sliced the closest vine apart, then joined his friend in a mad sprint.

Vines were coming to life all around as they ran. The pair managed to keep ahead, occasionally taking turns to stop and slash any approaching vines apart.

"I told you something was wrong!" Nightslice shouted.

"I'm sorry! But we're gonna make it! The exit's right here!" Firestorm held the key up. "Don't panic!"

The pair had just reached the tunnel when the plants abruptly sealed off its entrance, trapping them against a swarm of approaching vines.

"Damn!!" Firestorm readied a fire attack, only to have a vine wrap around his right leg and send him tumbling to the ground. "RARGH!!"

Nightslice chopped the vine off and immediately slashed at the plant wall...only to have it grow back faster than he could cut it.

"No way..."

"On second thought..." Firestorm pointed. "...panic..."

In a matter of seconds, the vines were literally all over the unfortunate Charizard and Scizor. They were screaming and struggling in shear panic, but there was nothing that could be done.

Horrified, Firestorm realized that the vines weren't just wrapping around his body...they were piercing into it. They went in through any opening...his mouth, ears, nose, and even made their own entrance paths. He felt them snaking beneath his scales, down to his skin and below.

He caught a quick glimpse of Nightslice and saw the same thing was happening to him. Storm could actually see the vines moving beneath his friend's armored plating.

It brought the terror to a new level when the vines went even further, cutting into his flesh and muscle tissue.

He saw they moving under his own scales, felt them coiling around his bones from the inside. Felt them going round his insides, whatever organs he had within. He was choking and gagging but the torture didn't end there.

The vines, finished with their wrapping and tightening, now began pulling and twisting. The sound of his own bones breaking was utterly sickening, and slowly, Firestorm lost the feeling in his legs, tail, wings and arms.

Nightslice was in as much pain as the vines snapped his bones, as well as his exoskeleton. His body was twisted into a horrific mess.

Then, as if to round it off, one last vine slipped in, twisting itself around each one's spine, slowly and steadily. As each one felt the pull, both came to the exact same conclusion.

It was over.


	11. Aftermath and Shocks

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Aftermath and Shocks**

By nightdragon0

"Asiyu! Are you all right?" A voice called. "Wake up!"

"Ughh..." Moaning, the Ice Dragon opened her eyes to find Kris standing over her.

"Thank goodness..." Kris gasped. She didn't look too well off either, clutching her side in pain.

Jade was a little further behind, with scars all over and various rips in his clothes. The battle had not gone well for the party.

"At least, we're still in one piece." Jade nodded.

"Yusia?! Where is she?!" Asiyu sprang up.

"They...they took her." Jade said dejectedly. "I'm sorry..."

(Oh no...) Hazuki gasped.

"I don't know if Yusia is the reason they didn't finish their dirty work." Kris spoke. "But that brings another question to mind. What would they want with her?"

All this while, Asiyu had been lying there on the ground, clenching her claws. The images of the battle were replaying themselves in her mind, over and over again. The images of how she'd failed miserably to protect the young girl.

And suddenly, Asiyu let off a loud roar of anguish that startled everyone.

"No! Why?! How?! How could I let them take her?!" She yelled.

"Asiyu, calm do...urgh!!" Kris was roughly shoved away as Asiyu took off running.

(Kris!) Hazuki called back.

(Whoa! Where are you going?!) Gwyen's voice added in.

Unfortunately, the two souls who made up Asiyu's physical form were powerless to stop her from running off in her despair. It didn't help that she spread her wings and took off, quickly disappearing from view.

That left Kris and Jade standing there, staring blankly at the sky.

(Now, this sucks.) Bahamut's voice broke the silence.

"I don't think we can handle this alone." Jade decided. "We'd best try to contact the others. Didn't Storm and Nightslice have a communicator between them?"

* * *

"Storm! Storm!" It was Nightslice's voice. "You there buddy?"

"Ugh...ow...it hurts..." Storm moaned.

"Wait, don't open your eyes!"

"Huh? Why?" Storm asked, though he was too dazed to disobey. "Hey! What the?! I...I can't move!!"

"That's not the worst thing. Take a deep breath and try not to scream..."

Unfortunately, the moment his eyes opened, Firestorm couldn't help but cry out in utter panic. For one, he somehow knew that he'd been brought down to a fraction of his normal size. The other thing was that he was no longer his Charizard self any more.

He'd been turned into some sort of plant. It was like a nightmare come to life.

As Firestorm glanced over himself in horror, he could make out roughly the shape of his real body. From where his legs should've been and downwards were roots instead, and his tail was gone too. Around his 'waist' level were a series of fern-like leaves.

His entire body had turned green and Storm remembered the vines that had entangled them earlier. It was the same surface, as if the vines had literally melded into his scales, merging them into the plant's outer structure.

There was puddle of water nearby, giving Firestorm a look at the reflection of his 'upper' body. It wasn't much to look at either, with the same green coloring and his wings and arms missing. Though the vines had completely wrapped themselves around his head as well, Storm could make out the rough shape of his Charizard head at the 'top' of the plant. It too had taken on the green coloring of the plant, with only his eyes and mouth remaining. That was without any teeth in his mouth though.

Storm had some movement in his neck and a little of his upper body. But other than that, he was firmly rooted to the spot.

"I...I warned you." Nightslice muttered.

Turning his head, Firestorm saw much of the same punishment had been inflicted upon the Scizor. He too had lost whatever limbs he had, and had roots at his 'thigh' point, along with the same circle of fern leaves at his wait. The vines too had melded with his outer body, leaving just the green, plant-like surface. Storm could make out the shape of his friend's head and eyes, but not much else that wasn't a plant now.

"What the...?! What's the hell's happened to us?!" Firestorm cried out.

"You think I know?!" Nightslice snapped. "I came to just before you and found myself like this. I'm surprised that you didn't wake up when I was screaming like a lunatic."

"Are we still in that, garden or whatever, where all the vines came in?"

"I think so, cause look over there."

Some distance off to their right was the gigantic tree they'd seen earlier. The one that had triggered all the vines in the first place.

"These scared fields don't take intruders lightly." A stern voice said. "Especially not ones who enter with our own devices."

Startled, the two turned their heads to find a Bulbasaur was standing behind them, holding up a glittering key in his vines...the Grass Key.

"Who are you?" Nightslice asked.

"Silence! I'm asking the questions around here!" The dinosaur snapped. "Where did you get this key? It's a scared item only made available to a chosen few."

"Hey, some thug was trying to use it and we knocked him out." Firestorm protested. "Then it sorta activated itself."

"Haha, I highly doubt that's true. Just another bunch of thieves looking to plunder the sacred field's treasures."

"It is true! I swear!" Firestorm yelled. "We're sorry if we intruded on this place, but let us go and we'll leave peacefully!"

"Too bad that can't be done." The Bulbasaur growled, tossing the key about. "No outsiders may leave the scared lands, especially after gazing upon the Ancient One."

"WHAT?!" The two exclaimed.

"You're gonna spend the rest of your lives here, as the plants that you are." The dinosaur laughed as he begun to walk away.

"You...you can't do this to us!" Nightslice yelled.

"That's the way it is here, and there's nothing you can do about it outsiders." Bulbasaur took a couple more steps before he stopped, and glanced towards the huge tree. "Yes, Ancient One?"

"The tree?" Firestorm wondered.

"Seem like it." Nightslice replied.

Whatever it was, Bulbasaur seemed to be engaged in a private, telepathic conversation. It was a while before he turned back to the duo.

"Well, the Ancient One has allowed you two to be moved closer to his glory. Consider that a privilege which you'd get no more of if I had my way."

Firestorm and Nightslice could do nothing but stare at each other and gulp.

* * *

"Come on this thing has got to work!" Nala muttered, fiddling with the buttons on the communicator.

"Let me take a look." Alken sat down beside her and took the device in hand.

A few hours had passed since their battle with the Registeel golem and Nala had finally managed to talk her new Dragon form, Erizar, into de-melding. Riot and Abetos looked on as Alken returned the device to Nala.

"Kris? Anyone? Come in!" She tried again.

Suddenly there was a burst of static, before a faint voice came over the communicator.

"Nala?! Finally! Where in the world have you been?!" Kris asked excitedly.

"Well, me and Riot sort of went out on our own. Then we ran into this strange teleportation device see? And well..."

Nala begun to tell Kris about everything that had happened, along with information about her own Dragon form and Alken. Eager to join in the conversation, Riot moved towards her and started talking as well.

That left Alken to sit down beside his partner, Abetos.

"So, everyone else is here after all?" Abetos queried.

"Yeah, the whole lot of us that went out on the boat that day." Alken nodded. "They're having some problems right now, but oddly, it's like an old reunion for their team. They've been together, handling these sorts of things way before us."

"Makes you feel rather out of place, doesn't it?"

"A little, but..." Alken reached down and touched his weapon, which contained the spirit of the Darkness Dragon, Skiar. "What is it? Something else you want us to see?"

As he blinked, an image flashed into his mind. It was the circle of strange symbols Nala and Riot had seen when they'd first teleported into the cavern.

"Something with those symbols?" Alken whispered.

(It's hard to tell what he's thinking. Especially since he won't talk to anyone.)

That was the voice of the newly awakened Erizar, whose spirit was held within the dual pistols Nala had placed beside her other equipment at the small fire they'd built.

(Even until death, I always thought he was a blindly loyal fighter.) Erizar continued. (We were old comrades who fought on the same side during the wars. He was pretty different then actually, until he got that mask over his face. That thing isn't just for show.)

"Then what is it?"

(I think he'll tell you that when he's ready.) Erizar said quickly, as if some private exchange had gone on between the two Dragon spirits.

"Hmmm...thanks." Alken then tapped Abetos on the side, indicating for his partner to follow.

The two walked all the way into the cavern and stepped into the circle of symbols.

"Doesn't seem to be working." Abetos commented.

"Or is it?" Alken wondered, kneeling down to touch the symbols. "Hm?!"

All at once, the symbols and his gun began glowing with a strange purple light.

"I see. Well, we've had no luck in contacting Firestorm or Nightslice either." Kris was saying. "Jade and I are on our way back to the Alenky Labs, where we left Zian remember?"

"Yeah, I might get Alken and head back there too..."

"Uh Nala, teleporter's acting up!" Riot warned.

"Whoops, Kris I gotta go!" Nala flicked off the communicator.

Grabbing her equipment, Nala dashed down the tunnel towards the place where Alken was standing. In a blinding flash of light, Alken and Abetos vanished.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Nala skidded to a halt, just in front of the circle.

Unfortunately, Riot wasn't as fast to stop and accidentally slammed into Nala. That sent the two tumbling forward, straight into the glowing circle.

If anyone could've seen the scene from the sky above, they would have seen two separate rays of light flying off. One headed towards the East, and the other to the West.

* * *

(Erm...Asiyu?) Hazuki asked.

The Legendary Ice Dragon had been flying at full speed for a long time. Finally, she'd stopped, landing on a rocky cliffside beside the sea. Hazuki and Gwyen had figured it would be best to let Asiyu gather her thoughts for a while. However, curiosity had finally gotten the better of her.

"I'm...I'll be all right..." Asiyu muttered. "It's just that...I couldn't help her..."

(Hey quit blaming yourself about it!) Gwyen yelled. (Nobody's going to be there to do anything about it if you just keep mourning over it!)

(How do you think I feel about it then?) Hazuki asked. (I know they have her, but I'm depending on you to help save my sister.)

"You two..." Asiyu managed a smile.

"Now what do we have here? A little icy Dragon invading out ground?" The pathway shook as a large Rhydon stomped onto the scene.

"Now, we're going to have to do something about that, eh?" He was joined by another brute, an Aggron.

(Uh-oh!) Hazuki whispered.

"Yeah especially since we're working under Kaiser now! So we get to do all sorts of..."

"Uno! Shut up!" The Aggron hissed. "You're not supposed to tell anyone that!"

"Erm...sorry Sano..." The Rhydon scratched his head.

"Kaiser's troops?! So you're with Raguragi then!" Asiyu roared.

"Ah well, he did mention about having to take care of you." Uno the Rhydon grinned. "Horn Drill!"

The rock beast lowered his head and charged, forcing Asiyu to jump backwards. That was when Sano came at her with a fully powered Body Slam. The force of the Ice Dragon slamming into the Aggron's steel body easily threw her forward again, just in time for Uno to smash her into the wall.

"Arrghh...ughh..." Asiyu moaned in pain.

"She's mine!" Sano yelled.

"No, mine!!" His partner, Uno, responded.

At the same time, the two stomped on the ground, unleashing their Earthquake abilities. The force of the two attacks converged and caused the cliff beneath Asiyu to break away. With a long scream, the Ice Dragon plunged headfirst into the raging waves of the sea below.

"Doh!!" Both the dinos groaned as Asiyu disappeared beneath the waves. "Now we don't have a trophy!! This is all your fault!!"

* * *

"Humph, consider yourselves lucky I even moved you here." Bulbasaur growled, patting the soil down around Nightslice's roots.

"Come on, please! This is a big misunderstanding!" Nightslice begged. "We're not the bad guys here!"

"Don't bother pleading, it won't get you anywhere. What has to be done, has to be done."

"But..." Firestorm started.

Bulbasaur suddenly fired off a Razor Leaf that slice off Firestorm's 'jaw' section. All the startled ex-Charizard could come up with was a muffled cry as the Bulbasaur simply walked away.

The two had been uprooted and moved closer to the gigantic tree in the center of the area. There were definitely more different plants around the inner part, which wasn't exactly very comforting to Firestorm or Nightslice at the moment.

"Don't mind Garrick, he's a major grouch at times, but he does his job well. He's the caretaker here, the guardian if you want to term it differently. And don't worry, your parts will easily regenerate." Another voice came from close by. "Turn a little to your left and see if you can make me out."

What the duo saw was formerly a Flygon, though he'd been put through the same plant transformation process as them.

"You're stuck here too?" Nightslice asked him.

"Yeah. Wasn't my choice at first, but I don't mind it now really." He responded. "Oh, I'm Vance. I was a thief about 5 years back or so. Sorta got myself into trouble for coming here, and well, I guess you two have had a personal experience."

"5...years?!"

"The peace and tranquility of this place is just wonderful." Vance continued to talk. "Just look around you."

Indeed, the scenery was beautiful. It was the picture perfect image of a garden with colored flowers, a huge tree in the center and a small stream nearby. Around the area were dozens of plant varieties.

Nightslice realized some were actually Grass Pokemon like Oddish and Bellsprout, who were lying still and enjoying the surroundings.

Further behind were the larger forms of odd looking Dragons. Those had roots as their feet, which dug firmly into the ground beneath them. Each one was also somewhat similar to a Venusaur, with a blooming flower on their backs.

"Those are Terra Dragons." Vance explained. "They're the Grass elemental dragons of these regions."

(Remember I told you about the Legendary Grass Dragon, Grix, whom I once met? Those Dragons look a lot like him.)

"Huh? Storm? That you?" Nightslice asked, starting as the voice came into his mind.

(All of the inhabitants here seem to be able to do it. Give it a try.)

(Now this is weird...) Nightslice directed his thoughts towards Firestorm. (Ok, I know we do this mind-speaking thing when we Dragon Meld, but this is plain weird.)

(Tell me about it! That little b#&tard cut my mouth off!) Firestorm muttered. (That Vance guy seems a little strange too.)

(Yeah, we have got to get out of here man.) Nightslice agreed. (Somehow...)

* * *

"Still nothing?" Kris asked.

"Nope, no reading yet. Nala's communicator must still be jammed from the teleportation you mentioned." Zian said, looking at his screen.

"Storm and Nightslice?"

Zian brought up another screen by tapping it with the electronic pointer he held between his front teeth.

"Nothing either." He mumbled. "Their communicator might be damaged...or worse."

"Great..." Jade sighed.

Kris and himself had doubled their pace to make it back to the lab. But as they now stood in Zian's room trying to figure out a course of action, most of their options had run dry. Almost that was, because the screen suddenly lit up with a message.

"E-mail?" Zian wondered.

As the disabled Dragon brought up the message, all present stared, mouth-opened at it.

'_Greetings friends. I know you now seek out the lost Spirit Crystals, and I do believe I can be of some assistance. There are two places where you must search: one is the Charisific Valley within the Johto Region and the other is the center of the City Saffron. You'll do well to remember these.'_

"No return address and I can't seem to trace it." Zian remarked. "Hmm...incoming transmission?"

Yet another screen popped up, this time of an unpleasantly familiar face.

"Ah, I see you're all up and running after that beating." Raguragi laughed arrogantly.

"You!" Kris glared furiously. "What have you done with Yusia?!"

"Oh the little girl is fine, for the moment that is."

"What?!"

"I'll make this nice and simple." Raguragi grinned. "I demand the surrender of all the Spirit Crystals you have to me, or else...the kid gets it."

"Damn, you are sick! I swear...!!" Jade growled.

"Come on guys, it's a simple choice isn't it?" Raguragi waved a finger.

"Grrr..."

"Why? Can't...huh?!"

Raguragi's screen suddenly fizzled out and was replaced by that of a hooded figure. Even with the cloak and the dark background, the draconic nature of the facial features could be seen.

"Raguragi cannot harm your friend." The hooded figure spoke in a deep, reverberating voice. "She is far too essential for them to lay a finger on her."

"Great, we don't need more weirdoes cutting into our business!" Jade fumed.

"Oh but I am already involved you see. I trust that you'll take that e-mail I sent you a little more seriously now."

"You sent that e-mail? Why would you help us?" Kris demanded.

"Just remember me as the Prophet for now." The shadow continued calmly. "I am neither friend nor foe, but an observer. Remember that your contact will be Myollnir."

"Wha...?!"

"Farewell for now then..."

The screen than flashed and changed back to Raguragi.

"Grrr...that damned Prophet! Always butting in and revealing all my secrets!!" The Swampert banged his console in frustration.

"So, it is true what he said then." Kris pointed.

"Yes! I mean no! Dammit! I wasn't supposed to be back at your screen yet!" Raguragi panicked. "Gargh!! I'll get the last of the Spirit Crystals from you! I swear!!"

"Hey boss, we were trying to say that we fought that Legendary Ice Dragon." A voice came from off screen.

"But see, she accidentally fell into the sea, yeah?"

"Uno! Sano! Shut up!!" Raguragi screamed as the screen suddenly flickered and died.

"I'm sorry but that's the longest I could allow the conversation to go up to." Zian cut in. "They must've picked up our signal somehow, probably because we were scanning for the other's communicators. I just kicked them off and encrypted our signal, so they won't be able to trace us back here."

"Well, that's one relief. Nice job." Jade nodded. "You're getting pretty good at doing things with just your mouth and that little pointer."

"Don't remind me." Zian sighed. "I'd rather be out there fighting alongside you guys."

"First Yusia. Then Asiyu, along with Hazuki and Gwyen." Kris shook her head.

"I don't think we can do anything about them for now." Jade put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know. I'm worried, that's all..."

* * *

Elsewhere, three figures stood around a table in a nearly pitch dark room. Almost, except for the glowing light of the crystal ball on a stand in the center of the table.

"It has been done." The Prophet declared, running his claws over the crystal ball.

"Hmmm..." Nodded the second cloaked figure. This happened to be the same one who had followed Kris' group from their home world to this one, and had been spying on them since.

"Where do we come in then, Master?" The last of the figures, a female Salamence asked.

"Soon my dear, very soon." The Prophet replied. "I want the troops of Kaiser destroyed as much as the avatars of the Legendary Dragons do. However, we shall not intervene too much yet."

"I see. So we are waiting for our enemies to attack each other?"

"Something like that. I know you thirst for battle my dear, but hold than back just a while longer." The Prophet raised a claw. "Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen. You are both dismissed for now. I comment you for your hard work so far."

Both figures bowed and left, leaving the Prophet along in his dark room.

"Soon, very soon indeed." The Prophet moved, throwing back his cloak.

In fact, the piece of cloth only covered the top part of his body. The rest of his serpent-like coils unwound as he carefully slipped out from beneath the table. Longer and longer spanned his body, reaching a full 23 feet.

The Prophet was a Dragon too, a Rayquaza. Carefully stretching his cramped body, the long Dragon brought up a glowing crystal in his claws.

It was the shimmering energy of the Psychic Spirit Crystal. The crystal that rightfully belonged to Zian.

* * *

Bashaamo opened the iron door and stepped into the cell.

Hidden deep within their cavern base, the cell was simple in design. The only furniture there was a cot in one corner, a small sink and toilet in the other. Besides that, there was a single window and the door, which she'd just entered through.

However, this cell was currently occupied by the human child Raguragi had insisted on capturing. She was there now, lying in the corner of the cot.

The girl shrank back upon Bashaamo's approach. Silently, the Blaziken walked forward and placed a tray of food at the edge of the bed.

"That's for you." Bashaamo gestured towards her.

The girl still seemed too frightened to move even as Bashaamo turned to depart.

"Thank you..." Yusia suddenly whispered.

Bashaamo paused and shot a quick glance backwards before slamming the door behind her. She was about to return to her personal quarters where her ears picked up voices from down the hallway.

Recognizing them as Raguragi and Juncan, Bashaamo carefully snuck up at stopped at the corner before them.

"So it's the thing about having all 16 crystals and the Mediator?" Juncan was asking.

"That's why I kidnapped her. I sensed the power within her during the battle." Raguragi replied. "She has to be the one."

"So important that you need to have our deadly female mercenary babysitting her?"

"She's hired help, so make use of it as I always say." Raguragi chuckled.

Bashaamo had the urge to walk up to the two and punch the living daylights out of them. However, she stayed hidden as the pair left the prison cells.

Instead, Bashaamo found herself drifting back to the little girl. After making sure that no one was around, she moved back to the girl's cell and watched her through the open slot in the door.

How that reminded so much of her...

Bashaamo blinked as the image of a small Torchic flashed over the figure of the human girl.

_No..._

Images came back into her mind. Memories of that seemingly normal, peaceful day in the village. It was, however, the day some Dragons attacked, burning down everything in sight.

Bashaamo saw herself there, again, amongst the burning ruins. She was desperately crying out...calling for her son. Her son who would never answer again.

As much as she tried to hold her emotions in, the hardened warrior shed a single tear, which dripped onto the cold stone floor.

* * *

"Damn, I don't think I've ever done so much begging in my life." Nightslice muttered.

"You think we pissed them off?" Firestorm glanced towards him.

"Maybe. That Garrick fellow seems to be engaged in another private conversation with the ancient tree."

It had been almost a week since the two had been turned into plants and trapped in the 'secret' garden. Things hadn't been going well for them. Despite their constant pleas, Garrick hadn't been the one to listen much at all.

Added to the fact that he'd been pretty nasty towards them. Both in attitude and in things like not throwing them water at times.

Finally, Garrick walked back towards them.

"Humph, the Ancient One had decided that you can join him after all. Perhaps you'll quieten down after this."

"Join him?" Nightslice asked.

"All the inhabitants here link themselves with the ground and the earth." Garrick explained. "It's a circle that keeps the 'chi energy' flowing throughout the lands, the energy that keeps nature moving. That's done by linking with the Ancient One's energies, allowing them to flow through you as part of the cycle."

"Meaning...?" Firestorm stared.

"Oh you'll feel it in your roots soon." Garrick smirked. "Just relax."

"Huh? I..." Nightslice started. "NO...I...I feel...garhh...!!"

"Nightslice?! Urrghh...I..." Firestorm's eyes went wide for a second.

He'd felt it, the roots of the great tree reaching out and touching both his and Nightslice's. There were several tense moments of futile struggling, but gradually, Firestorm begun to feel calmer and calmer.

It was as if all his anxiety and fears had suddenly vanished.

_What...what was that I was thinking about? _Firestorm asked himself. _Leaving? No, it couldn't have been..._

_This place...its aura is simply fantastic. _Similar thoughts had hit Nightslice's mind. _I could just...no...I want to...stay here...forever..._

Garrick simply stood watching as the frightened expressions of the two transformed Pokemon vanished, replace by drowsy-like 'joyful' state.

"We won't be getting problems from these two anymore, Ancient One."


	12. A Time for Change

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**A Time for Change**

By nightdragon0

"Ugh...ow..." Hazuki moaned.

"Hey boss! I think the kid's waking up!" A voice called.

"Hmmm...let me see." A second voice replied.

Hazuki felt like she was on a boat, the waves gently lapping against her vessel. She could hear the sounds of the sea all around as she opened her eyes.

"Kyle?!" Hazuki gasped, seeing a Lapras face come into her view.

"Erm, I think you have me mixed up with someone else." The Lapras spoke with a firm male voice. It was just that he seemed so similar to one of Hazuki's old friends, who'd been lost during a previous battle.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I was a little startled."

"Think nothing of it." The Lapras replied. "It's good that you're all right, after we found you and your companion adrift in the sea like that."

Hazuki realized she'd been lying on his back and sat up to have a look around. The Lapras she was riding was at the front of a school of other Lapras, one of which was carrying Gwyen. However, there was water all around, stretching as far as eye could see.

(I'm sorry, that last battle didn't go very well.) Asiyu's voice told Hazuki.

The blue haired girl petted the Ankh on her belt, indicating for Asiyu to 'not worry about it'.

"We had a little accident, and we're really grateful for your help." Hazuki spoke.

"We certainly are much obliged to help those in need." He smiled. "My name is Alric, and this is my clan."

"I'm Hazuki, and that's Gwyen over there." Hazuki gestured.

"Ow, yeah. Accident is right." Gwyen called from the back of another Lapras. "Next time I...whoa!!"

SPLOOSH!!

Gwyen attempted to stand on the Lapras' back and slipped off, landing headfirst in the ocean.

"Gargh!! Cold!!" Gwyen scrambled back up onto the Lapras who'd been carrying her.

"Hey, you're a water-type too aren't you?" The aforementioned Lapras turned his head. "You can't possibly not know how to swim."

"I can! I'm...just not used to these sea waters!" Gwyen huffed. "I'm mostly around fresh water after all."

"She's a Suicune." Alric noted. "Your kind don't even need to swim, considering you have the ability to walk on water."

"Really?" Hazuki looked up with interest. "You never told me that Gwyen."

"Well, yeah, it's true. That's one of the finer arts of my race." Gwyen began. "I...well...you see...haven't really practiced much..."

Everyone else sweatdropped.

"Oh boy, why didn't you just say that you couldn't swim?" Hazuki moaned.

"I can!! Wargh!!" Gwyen sprang up, lost her balance and fell into the water again. That had her scrambling for her 'ride' again.

"Well you're certainly an interesting pair." Alric laughed. "We're on our way back to our village, and you're welcomed to rest up there. Then, we'll find a way to drop you back at the mainland."

"That'll be so cool, thanks." Hazuki nodded.

"I'm not too familiar with the lands from which you come from. I was hoping you could tell me."

"Erm, we'll rather lost too see."

"Haha, well in that case, there's a port we sometimes go for trading sessions." Alric decided. "That would be a good place to start."

"Hey boss look there!" One of the pack suddenly called out.

"What the?!" Alric stared, seeing a column of smoke rising in the distance. "No, the village!"

"The Pirates again?!" Another Lapras moaned.

"Pirates?" Gwyen wondered.

"We'll explain once we get there." Alric declared. "Hold on tight you two! We're heading there at full speed!"

* * *

"So, you really want to go for it Kris?" Jade looked up from the map on the table.

"That 'Prophet', as he calls himself, seems to have some reason for helping us." Kris answered. "I don't feel right about it, but we have to move out. We've waited several days already and can't allow Raguragi's crew to beat us to the crystals."

"Even without the others?"

"I believe that they'll make it." Kris nodded.

"Hmmm, I've been scanning for the energy waves of the teleporter Nala told us about." Zian called from the other side of the room. "I've managed to pick up faint traces of hers and Alken's signals. Apparently, the energies from the Spirit Crystals can activate the teleporters."

"So, we just have to find one?" Jade confirmed. "A lot harder than it sounds."

There was a sudden tapping sound at the window, which caused everyone to jump. The hovering form of a red and white Latias materialized, waving with one of her wings.

"Hi there! I know this is really sudden for you guys, but I could help." She called. "I'm Rynn, and your buddy Alken helped me out once."

"You've met Alken?" Kris walked over and opened the window, allowing Rynn to fly in.

"Yeah and I really do want to return the favor and...I heard you talking about the teleporter and all."

"So, you're the mysterious presence Epsilon sometimes senses around here." Zian muttered.

"Well, yeah. I was sorta shy and plus, I really didn't want to just fly in and scare the life outta everyone." Rynn continued, flying around the room. "So, how about it? I can show you guys where a teleport point is!"

"Nala did mention something about one of Alken's encounters." Kris decided. "All right then Rynn, we're coming. Let's just let Sid and Epsilon know that we're heading out again."

* * *

Rynn led Kris and Jade up the mountain path, towards the place where Alken had originally obtained his Spirit Crystal.

"So it's my family's job to look after this Secret Garden see?" Rynn was explaining. "Alken and Abetos helped us out by clearing out the dark energy. A while after we left, my brother and I happened to uncover another of the Garden's secrets."

"A teleport point?" Kris asked.

"Yes. There was this old well we uncovered and it led into a hidden chamber. We found a mystic object locked in there, called the Soul Dew. Around it were all the symbols designating it as a teleport point."

(We'll be able to work from there.) Bahamut's voice rang out.

"Hey, you two have been very quiet lately." Kris tapped the sword which contained the Dragon's Spirit Crystal.

(We've been recovering our energy.) Lombadra added in. (You can say we're fully charged, but we can't do anything without your other halves.)

"Yeah, Storm and Nightslice." Jade sighed, turning his head. "I hope they're all right..."

He'd been walking at the front of the group and Kris saw the soil in his path suddenly move a little. Immediately, she dashed forward and knocked him away, just as a humongous Steelix emerged from beneath.

With a roar, the metallic snake swung his tail, forcing Kris and Jade to dive for cover.

"Hey what do you think you're doing?!" Rynn yelled angrily. "Mist Ball!"

The Latias sent off a ball of psychic energy, which struck Steelix in the face. That caught his attention and the snake turned towards her, roaring furiously.

"Erm...hehehe...oh crap..." Rynn muttered nervously.

Rynn panicked as Steelix charged towards her, but the snake halted when Kris threw a Shuriken at his face. He simply bent his head over and blocked the attack with its tail.

"Damn, not good." Kris growled.

Rynn saw a chance and quickly launched a Dragon Breath attack. Although it struck dead-on, Steelix still managed to push through it and slammed Rynn into the mountainside.

Then, a beam of electrical energy suddenly struck Steelix's head. Hovering in the sky above was a new Dragon.

This one was also humanoid in structure, covered by orange colored scales with yellow at the shoulder pads, arm pads, waist line and shin pads.

The head was serpent-like and elongated; jaws lined with white fangs. There was a golden mane at the back of the head, leading down slightly past shoulder level. A jaggered mask, shaped like a lightning bolt pattern covered the entire upper head, leaving jaws untouched and the black colored eyes uncovered.

The Dragon had bird-like wings with golden feathers. Between the wings lay a metallic section with holes, from which crackles of electricity could be seen.

The claws were yellow with five fingers. And running from back of fist to the elbow joint was a similar metallic section with a series of holes. Finally, the legs ended in three toed talons with two pointed forward and one pointed backward, all yellow in color.

"Who...?!" Jade gasped.

(Could that be... Myollnir?) Lombadra wondered. (The Legendary Dragon of Thunder.)

"That's the one the Prophet mentioned to us." Kris noted. "Why didn't you tell us this earlier?!"

(I didn't think it was the same Dragon!)

Steelix slammed the ground, sending huge chunks of rocks flying towards Myollnir. The agile Dragon dodged every single one before swooping down and hitting the snake with a Thunderbolt.

"The thunder elemental attacks shouldn't be hurting that Steelix." Jade stared. "But it looks like he's in pain."

Despite that, Steelix moved and continued to attack, attempting to hit the Thunder Dragon with his jaws and tail. Myollnir slipped through his coils, flew to his back and sent off the Sacred Fire ability by putting her claws to together.

Everyone was forced to step back as a huge column of flames engulfed both Myollnir and her opponent.

"Be on your guard, Raguragi's troops will be out there at every corner." Myollnir said in a strong feminine voice. "We will meet again."

When the flames cleared, there was no trace left of either combatant other than a blackened, burnt-out spot on the ground.

"Ugh..." Kris pulled herself to her feet and moved over to the spot. "What's the Prophet's goal, really? I just don't know..."

* * *

"Ouch...we really have to stop ending up like this..." Alken groaned.

"Ugh...yeah..." Abetos agreed.

The actions of the teleporting device had dumped the pair into another dark cavern.

Alken took note of the same circle of symbols at their current location. He had a feeling that there were more places with strange symbols like these.

Then, a loud roar sounded from outside.

Alken and Abetos glanced at each other and then ran to the entrance of the cave. What Alken saw caused him to jump back in shock. The area outside was a rocky wasteland with mountains and valleys stretching as far as eye could see.

And around those parts were gigantic figures. Not any kind of Pokemon, but the actual Dragons. Alken saw many flying around and some perching on the cliffs. It was like going back in time and seeing the prehistoric ages with all sorts of huge, ferocious creatures.

The huge shadow of a Dragon passed over the cavern, forcing Alken to duck back inside to avoid detection.

"Well, I can safely say that Skiar's brought us to the land of the Dragons." Alken muttered. "They seem a lot wilder than the 'civilized' Pokemon we've seen."

"Perhaps those were simply the civilized areas." Abetos suggested.

Alken blinked as Skiar sent another vision into his mind. He 'saw' it from a first-person perspective, as if he were the one running there himself.

The figure, whom he assumed to be Skiar, was dashing and jumping across cracks and holes in the rocky ground. All that led to an opening at the base of a volcanic mountain.

The view then rushed backwards, images of the places flying past, and 'hit' Alken. The dark haired man stumbled back, holding his head.

"That where you want us to go Skiar?" He asked.

"Well, we're on Dragon ground, so we should let him lead." Abetos spoke.

"Yeah, good idea."

Several minutes later, it was Skiar, the Dark elemental Dragon, who emerged from the cave and flew off, disappearing amongst the other Dragons in the area.

* * *

"Over here guys." Ryan the Latios gestured towards a well beneath a large tree.

Rynn had brought Kris and Jade to the Secret Garden, the same place Alken had previously been to. It remained the same however; a beautiful garden with a large assortment of exotic plant life, stone ornaments, benches and a fountain in the center.

Tall trees went high up into the sky, their leaves forming a thick canopy that allowed only a little sunlight to seep through. Several glowing crystals on stands served to provide the rest of the illumination.

The pair of humans couldn't help but admire the beauty of the area, despite the urgency of the situation. It was Rynn's brother who had finally gotten them to get moving.

"Down there?" Jade asked.

"Yeah, it's really an underwater tunnel that leads into another chamber." Ryan nodded. "Just hold your breath for a while and I'll bring you through in a flash."

"Well here goes then." Kris muttered, grabbing onto Ryan's right wing.

Jade took hold of the other wing and Ryan plunged into the well. The area was dark and the water cold, but Kris and Jade held on tight as Ryan whizzed through the water as easily as through air. The well went vertically downwards at first, but then turned into a horizontal path, and finally, a tunnel that led upwards.

The three emerged in a large chamber, shaking themselves dry. The only source of light was a large gem in the center of the room, giving off a soft bluish glow.

"It's pretty isn't it?" Rynn asked, emerging from the watery passageway. "That's the Soul Dew I told you all about."

"Rynn, you're supposed to be resting after that battle." Ryan growled. "You took a bit of a beating there."

"Hey I could've kicked his ass if I wanted to." Rynn huffed. "But I'm so good that I thought I'd better go easy on him."

"Yeah right." Ryan sighed, sweatdropping.

"So these are the symbols Nala mentioned." Jade knelt down and touch the patterns that surrounded the Soul Dew.

(Hmm, yes I feel the energies here.) Lombadra commented. (We'll be able to activate the teleporters from here and designate a location.)

"I'll take the Saffron location." Kris decided.

"You sure?" Jade looked up with concern.

"I'm the one with the stealth training." Kris insisted. "That area is Dragon grounds, and from what we've heard, they're far less partial to 'aliens'."

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that." Jade sighed. "Be careful all right Kris?"

"Heh, have you ever had a need to worry about me?"

"Sometimes."

(Hey you two!) Bahamut interrupted. (That's pretty touching, but we've got a little proposition for you.)

"Which is?" Kris queried.

(Even though we're at full power now, old flame-face and I can't appear without your partners around. But we can help a little by bringing out the foreign elements in your bodies.)

"Foreign elements?"

(The sides of you that are Pokemon in nature.) Lombadra replied. (Sit back and watch.)

Kris and Jade felt shocks going through their bodies as they begun to glow. Ryan and Rynn covered their eyes, and when they were able to look forward again, a Scizor and Charizard stood in place of the humans.

"Wow, this is quite something." Kris muttered, looking over her Scizor body. "Last time I was in a Pokemon body, I was a Scyther."

"Well, it brings back memories too." Jade added in, rubbing his snout. "Not all good ones."

(We'll be able to maintain these forms of yours for longer periods.) Bahamut explained.

(And hopefully they'll help out.) Lombadra continued. (That's all we can do for you right now.)

"Hey, thanks you two." Kris smiled, touching the sword that hung by her side. "It's really thoughtful of you two."

(Oh enough with the mushiness and get going!) Bahamut snapped.

(It was his idea really.) Lombadra spoke from the Spirit Crystal in Jade's utility belt, which was strapped across his Charizard chest.

(Hey shut up flame-face!)

Kris and Jade glanced at each other and shook their heads.

"Now that's something I don't see everyday." Ryan remarked, flying around the two.

"Guess you're heading off now." Rynn hovered between Kris and Jade. "When you see Alken and Abetos again, make sure you tell them that I really want to see that totally HOT Dragon they change into. Ah, the handsome prince of my dreams...ugrh!"

"More like your delusions of grandeur." Ryan sighed, dragging his sister off by the ear.

"Ow! Ow! Owie!! Ryan!! Ouch!!"

That got a laugh from the group. Nodding to each other, Kris and Jade entered the circle of symbols. Their 'Legendary Weapons' quickly activated the teleporters, sending two beams of light shooting out of the mountain and into the dark, night sky.

* * *

"This looks like a forest." Nala muttered, pulling herself up.

"Well, thanks for stating the obvious." Riot replied.

The rays of light had dropped the pair off in a ditch in the middle of a forest of tall trees. The canopy formed by the tree tops blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving dimmer rays to pass through. The air around was moist and the odd cricking of insects could be heard all around.

Nala saw the circle of symbols in the ditch, representing the teleportation point they'd taken to get here.

"Hey Erizar, just how do those things work anyway?" Nala asked the Dragon spirit. "According to my watch, a few days have passed. We were lost in the teleportation or something?"

"Yeah, maybe they work differently each time." Riot suggested. "I wonder if it happened to Alken and Abetos too."

(You two woke me up how long ago and now you're asking?) Erizar's voice replied.

"Well, point taken." Nala scratched her head. "Let's try going this way then."

The pair moved down a dirt trail which seemed to have been deliberately cut through the forest. It wasn't long before they arrived at a small shrine.

It was shaped like a miniature temple and painted green like the rest of the plant life around. There was a sign below the shrine too, which read 'The Shrine of Ilex Forest'.

"Ilex Forest is close to Azalea Town in our world right?" Riot queried. "Perhaps it's the same here too."

"Yeah, look at this..." Nala pointed.

Suddenly, the shrine doors flew open, revealing a glowing green bell hanging within. As if mesmerized by the glow, Nala leaned forward.

"Hey, I don't think you should touch that Nala." Riot warned. "Nala? Nala!!"

Nala tugged on a string beneath the bell, causing it to emit a strange ringing noise.

"Huh? Wha?!" Nala blinked. "I...did I do that?"

"You looked like you were in a trance." Riot moved closer.

(Something's wrong.) Erizar remarked. (I can sense it.)

With the odd ringing noise was still going, Nala and Riot were glancing around, looking out for anything that might happen.

While they didn't see anything, the pair realized that there were more noises than just the ringing of the bell.

* * *

Nightslice's world was a blur. He'd truly begun to feel the aura of the land flowing through his roots and up to his body. That was why his mind told him to stay here, enjoying the peace and tranquility.

However, there occasionally were thoughts that this was all wrong. It was like a little voice screaming from within. It was the voice of his true self, though almost completely suppressed by the nature of his altered plant form.

He shot a glance over to his friends, Storm and Vance. Both had their eyes closed and seemed to be resting peacefully.

Garrick the Bulbasaur was off to the side when a light emitted from further down the path. Nightslice couldn't seem to remember what was down that plant covered tunnel, but Garrick glanced over with concern.

"Hm?! Gargh!!" Garrick was suddenly stuck by a series of flying leaves and thrown back.

"So, these are the Sacred Fields?" A voice laughed. "I expected them to be better guarded than by a little dino like you."

"You cannot trespass here! I am the guardian of the fields!" Garrick growled.

"But you can't do anything about it, can you?" The figure stepped into view. It was another plant type dinosaur, a Grovyle, who was accompanied by several Ivysaur.

_Him...Juncan...? _Nightslice thought. _Where is he from? Damn, my memories are all foggy... _

"We'll see!" Garrick tapped a vine on the ground.

Immediately, the other vines near and in the tunnel came to life. Nightslice blinked, remembering something just like this had happened to him and Firestorm.

_When we first came here, we were..._ Nightslice struggled. _We were attacked! Just like that!_

Juncan simply stood still, grinning, and raised a greenish crystal in his claws. At once, all the vines stopped their assault, falling to the ground. Many of them turned brown and withered.

"Too bad none of your silly little tricks can affect me when I have this." Juncan proudly held up the Grass Spirit Crystal.

"Gurgh..." Garrick backed away.

"I'll make this easy for you." Juncan declared. "I'm looking for the Eternal Spring, and I know this place holds the secret to finding it. Give me that information and I'll leave you alone."

"Never! That is the field's most guarded secret!" Garrick shouted. "Razor Leaf!"

Juncan blocked the attack with the Leaf Blades on his arms.

"Fine have it your way!" Juncan growled. "Troops! Attack!"

The accompanying Ivysaur fired off their own Razor Leaf attacks, pelting Garrick with the sharp spinning projectiles. Juncan then leapt in and slashed at Garrick in an X-formation. That was easily enough to thrown the Bulbasaur to the ground.

"Shit, this is really bad." Firestorm whispered.

"But we can't do anything while we're stuck like this!" Nightslice replied. "Damn it!"

"No challenge at all." Juncan huffed, stomping a foot on his fallen opponent. "Well, we'll do this the hard way then. Torture you till you decide to talk! Troops, take him! And get a few of his precious friends as hostages too."

"Yeah boss!" A couple of the Ivysaur soldiers used their vines to restrain the weakened Garrick. One of them slammed Garrick's head against a nearby rock until he lost consciousness.

"Hey, I may hate the guy, but even he didn't deserve that." Firestorm growled.

"Well, who do we have here?" Juncan walked over to the pair. "You two...as plants! How utterly ironic!"

Storm and Nightslice tried to bite him with their 'mouth' sections, but Juncan stepped aside and grabbed their heads. Both were struggling like mad, but as ever they remained firmly rooted down.

"To have you two, helpless and at my disposal." Juncan grinned. "That's priceless. I'm gonna make you suffer for that humiliating defeat you gave me earlier."

Slowly, he ripped the transformed plants out of the ground and stuffed both into a large leather sack. The other Grass elemental inhabitants were making panicked noises. None of them knew how to fight, or even what to do much less.

That made it easy enough for Juncan's troops to gather up some of the smaller ones and stuff them into leather sacks too. Juncan then walked up to the huge Sacred Tree, glancing at it. He reached down and took the glittering object at its base.

At once, the area around darkened and the sunlight that was streaming down onto the tree suddenly disappeared. Juncan whistled at the object in his claws, a white shimmering crystal.

The Non-elemental (Normal) Spirit Crystal.

"Ah yes, this certainly is my day." Juncan bragged. "Well, I'll be back here once I have the location of the Eternal Spring."

Inside the darkness of the leather sack, another pair was feeling quite the opposite of Juncan's triumph.

"Just when you thought we couldn't possible get any worse off." Firestorm sighed.

* * *

Bashaamo found herself here at the prison cell again, watching the little human child. It wasn't out of duty this time, but interest instead.

Raguragi wanted her for something and Bashaamo didn't know what. She wasn't told this sort of thing, but she had her suspicions. Now, watching the girl, she began to feel more and more like there was something special about this child.

Yusia was eating a meal from the tray Bashaamo had brought her, and suddenly looked up.

"You're watching me again?"

The Blaziken realized her head was visible through the cell's window and leaned back against the wall. Yusia apparently knew she was still there and continued talking.

"You always seem so sad." The young girl whispered. "That's different from the others."

Bashaamo's eyes widened, though she was sure she was out of viewing range.

"I am at times too, but my sister always makes me feel better." Yusia said.

"I lost all those emotions a long time ago." Bashaamo replied. "I was a warrior from birth, as was my family. As warriors, honor and power comes at a price."

"I've never had a family until sis came along. I can only remember being in a cell like this." Yusia continued. "Everyone told me that I was...born differently from others. I really don't know why."

"Hm..."

"There was a friend I used to have, a Lapras, who was always around me when I was in the cell. But one day, they just took him away, and I never saw him again..." Yusia sniffed.

Bashaamo closed her eyes, lost in thought.


	13. The Plant’s Desire

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**The Plant's Desire**

By nightdragon0

"Erm...what's that?" Nala asked nervously.

"Sounds like some groaning." Riot replied, glancing around.

Nala and Riot were back to back, watching out for any signs of danger. It seemed, however, that the place had suddenly gotten a lot darker than before. The sounds of the forest had all but faded away, leaving only the shuffling of leaves...as if someone or something were approaching them.

"I don't like this..." Nala was saying when a claw suddenly burst out of the ground and grabbed her ankle. "Ggaarrgghh!! Arrgghhh!"

Screaming in panic, Nala stomped on the claw, causing it to release its hold. As she backed away, a Feraligatr pulled itself out of the ground. With a furious roar, it swung its arm and slammed Riot to the side.

Nala whipped out one of her pistols and fired at the Feraligatr's leg. She was utterly startled when the shot blew a large hole through the creature's flesh. However, it didn't seem to feel any pain and kept moving towards her.

She realized now that the Feraligatr didn't look normal either. Its position was slightly hunched, its eyeballs were completely white, and parts of its flesh were already rotten and decayed. There was also a distinctive putrid odor now that it was in close range.

_Zombie!! _Nala's mind raced.

"Damn it!!" Pulling out her other gun, Nala fired again and again as she backed away. That only succeeded in making more holes in the creature's body.

"Rargh!!" Riot came forth with a Wing Attack, and took the zombie's head clean off.

Both stood there panting as the body collapsed and lay motionless.

"Jeez!!" Nala muttered.

"What the heck is this thing?!" Riot poked at the zombie's decapitated head with a talon.

Suddenly, the head came back to life, snapping its jaws as it tried futilely to reach the two. Nala and Riot jumped up in shock, backing away towards the trees. Then, another pair of claws reached out and grabbed Nala from behind.

Those belonged to a bear-like Ursaring zombie, whose jaws went straight for Nala's neck. She managed to pull away and block the attack, but took a bite to her right hand as a result. Riot knocked the creature off and Nala shot it in the head, dropping it to the ground.

"Crap! There's more!" Riot growled.

A Granbull and Slowbro had emerged from the woods to join their brethren, and more groans were sounding from close by.

"Run for it!" Nala sprinted down the nearest dirt path, only to find it blocked by more zombies of Pokemon. "Other way!!"

The pair turned around as the Granbull and Slowbro approached. Nala ducked beneath their claws while Riot flew over them. More zombies had stumbled into the area however, cutting off their escape route.

"Get on me Nala!" Riot gestured.

"Go! Go!" Nala leapt and grabbed onto her partner's neck.

The flyer managed to take off in spite of the attack, but there was danger in the sky too. Beedrill zombies emerged and charged in with their stingers. Riot screeched as she tried to defend herself, but the creatures buzzing around her eventually knocked her to the ground, ending with the two surrounded by a circle of zombies.

As Nala and Riot cringed back in fear, a glass bottle was suddenly tossed towards them. The bottle shattered, releasing a spray of water which caused the zombies to drop backwards, howling in pain.

"Come here now!" A voice ordered. "That Holy Water won't keep them distracted for long!"

A Sneasel was standing further down the path, waving to them. That certainly looked more inviting than the army of zombies behind them, and the duo wasted no time in following.

* * *

"Gargh! Argh! This is pathetic!" Firestorm moaned.

The two were struggling in the darkness of the leather sack, and still to no avail.

"And how do you think I feel about it?!" Nightslice snapped.

"Well at least that weird tree doesn't have its roots around us any more. The creepy thing was messing with our minds back there!"

"Somehow, I think that's gonna be the least of our concerns right now." Nightslice muttered. "Listen!"

The figure carrying their sack had previously been bouncing it up and down, and now it had suddenly stopped. The bag was then roughly tossed onto a table.

"Heh, hope you're enjoyed the ride." Juncan opened the sack and peered inside. "The rest of it however, ain't gonna be very pleasant for you."

He quickly closed the sack and handed it to someone.

"Make something interesting out of these couple of weeds." Juncan laughed.

As the reptile's footsteps faded, more sounds around them soon became apparent. There was a lot of chatter about, along with the various clanging of metal objects. Water could also be heard running occasionally in the background, along with the chugging of machinery.

"Oh crap...don't tell me this is what I think it is..." Firestorm gasped.

"Hold on a while and listen." Nightslice cut in. "Those voices..."

"Voices?"

"Ok, I hate to tell you to do this, but tap into the plant side of you. It's Garrick you can hear, and I think he's upstairs."

Storm closed his eyes and focused. He was surprised to find that he could indeed hear much 'better'. It was his guess that Garrick was in a room above, and Juncan was with him.

"So, where is the Eternal Spring then?" Juncan's voice growled.

That was followed by some sort of whipping sound and Garrick's screams.

"Still not talking? Well, allow me to give you a little more incentive."

There were some yelping sounds as a Pokemon, probably another of the Grass types, was dragged out. Then came some grinding sounds, as if someone had turned on a blender, and both realized that the unfortunate Pokemon was no more. Garrick let off a howl of fury as Juncan laughed.

"Damn! I hate that guy!" Firestorm snarled. "I so wanna get my claws on him!!"

"It's like Garrick said earlier, some aura that connects us to the Earth and the Earth to others." Nightslice muttered.

"What the heck are you talking about?!"

There wasn't time to continue the conversation because the two were suddenly pulled out of the sack and thrown into a sink full of water. Now that they could see the area around, both were utterly shocked to see what it was.

(A kitchen?!) Firestorm projected his thoughts. (Oh no! Not this please!)

(Just keep trying to reach him!) Nightslice urged.

(Who?!)

(The ancient tree of course! He's the one that could get us out of this mess.)

(Talk to a tree dammit?!)

(Haven't you noticed we're stuck in plant form now?! Try to...gargh!!)

The transformed plants were whipped out of the sack and dropped onto a huge chopping block. The Nidoking standing over them was dressed in a chef's hat and outfit with a chopper, but he might as well have been an executioner to the two.

(Holy shit! Rarrgghhh!!) Firestorm screamed.

His body was literally being chopped up into dozens of pieces, and he was perfectly conscious to feel every moment.

(Come on ancient one!!) Nightslice grunted, even though he was going through the same punishment. (I know you can hear us! You have to change us back! We can't let this go on with Garrick any longer!)

The chef was done with his chopping by this time, and anything the pair could see was reduced to a blur. They could still feel however, and it seemed like they were tossed into another bowl with a mixture of ingredients.

(NNOOO!!) Firestorm wailed. (I don't want to be somebody's vegetable salad!!)

(Grrr...come on please ancient one!) Nightslice tried again. (You really have to trust us! Even if it's just this once!)

The bowl was being shaken now, and suddenly the pair felt heat...the heat of a stove.

(Please!) Nightslice tried a final plea. (We'll promise to stay with you if you'll just let us help Garrick now!! GGarrgghhh!!)

Several tense seconds followed in which all the duo could feel was the rising heat. Then, came a startling realization.

(Nightslice!) Firestorm called. (I...I can feel my hands!!)

* * *

In anyone's view, one would've described the bar as being filled with unsightly figures. Here however, those figures were various colored dragons.

And amongst them, Skiar sat at a counter, sipping on his drink. Abetos seemed to be 'asleep' within their Dragon form, but Alken was awake and watching the surroundings curiously. But he also had to 'see' through Skiar's senses.

Without his sight, Skiar's acute senses constructed an image from which Alken could make out the area around him.

Many of the Dragons around were what one would expect of a typical Western Dragon, having a quadruped form with four limbs, a pair of wings and a long tail. Most were standing on their hind legs and drinking as well. Others were sitting at tables chatting or at the pool tables.

(Now, this seems so familiar.) Alken commented. (I used to hang out in these places a lot. I wasn't exactly the good kind of kid in my days.)

Skiar gave a soft grunt, and it took Alken a while to realize that the Dragon actually meant for him to carry on.

(Want to hear more do you?) Alken muttered. (Well, there's really not much to it. I got into a criminal organization, known as Team Rocket in my world. And well, I've done some things that I regret. Then one day, I finally put a plan into action and faked my own death to get out.)

Alken paused for a while, recalling the time he'd blown up the cruise ship (back in Dragon Riders 02).

(But somehow I just got myself dragged back into all this.) Alken finished.

His view suddenly flashed and changed to a scene of a mountainside. Alken realized that this was a memory of Skiar's, and he was viewing it through the Dragon warrior's eyes.

The Skiar in the vision was running forward, charging towards a group of Pokemon. Most looked very odd, but Alken thought he recognized a Kabutops and an Aerodactyl amongst them.

(These must be ancient ancestors of the Pokemon that were around during his time.) Abetos remarked, suddenly awake.

Neither had much time to take a closer look, because Skiar was quickly upon the unfortunate party. All they could see was a blur of quick slashes, Skiar leaping around and hacking away with his claws.

Amongst the roar and screeches, Skiar was soon the only one left standing. The blood flowing from the bodies of his foes lay splattered all around. Skiar raised his claws, found them to be covered with red blood, and wiped them off on a nearby rock.

"You have done well, my servant." A voice boomed.

* * *

"Almost there guys!" The Sneasel gestured.

Nala and Riot had been following as he led them towards an old, burnt-out town. From what they could see, it had been deserted for some time. The buildings had partially collapsed, and other parts were on fire.

"Is it safe there?" Nala asked.

"That's not where we're headed." Sneasel replied.

The black cat veered towards a wall on the outskirts of town. Reaching down, he grabbed a chain hidden in the grass and pulled it. Some grass slid away to reveal a wide iron door.

Sneasel then pulled on a couple of leavers nearby and the large trap door slid open. He ushered them through before slamming it shut.

"Whew...made it." He panted. "Are you two all right?"

"Yes, thanks to you." Riot nodded.

"Yeah, you saved us." Nala added in.

"Hey Sciion! You're back!" A dragonfly-like Yanma buzzed into the corridor. "You found more survivors?"

"More like a couple of lost travelers." Sciion the Sneasel waved. "If I'm correct to assume that ladies?"

"Yeah, that's right." Nala nodded to Riot. It was true from a certain point of view, though coming here certainly hadn't been their intention.

"It was a really bad time to stumble in here then." Sciion commented. "As you can see, the situation is pretty dire here."

"Just what in the world is going on anyway?" Riot queried. "And all those things that attacked us?"

"Exactly what they looked like...zombies." Sciion explained. "Things used to be fine around here. That town you saw there is all that's left of Azalea."

"Those ruins?" Nala gasped. "That must've been some major disaster!"

"No one really knows how it all started." Sciion continued. "There were just a few cases of missing Pokemon at first. Nothing much, but then bodies started turning up. After that, there came groans from the sewers."

"Sounds like a classical horror movie." Riot remarked.

Sciion had begun walking down the corridor and the duo followed suit. The place looked like it had originally been constructed as some sort of bomb shelter.

Several rooms branched off from the main corridor and various Pokemon could be seen huddling there, usually seated around fires.

"All of a sudden, zombies started invading town." Sciion continued. "I was out in the forest then and when I returned, the entire town was in a state of chaos."

"Yeah, and those you see here are all the survivors." The Yanma added in.

"Could all this have something to do with the bell at that shrine?" Nala asked. "I know I felt really strange when I was near it."

Sciion's eyes widened briefly in surprise, but quickly went back to his usual grim looks.

"I don't know too much about that I'm afraid." Sciion shook his head. "The only thing we know for certain is that whatever curse they're under, contact through a blood wound or bite is able to spread that."

"As in?!" Nala looked up.

"In a few days, you'll become one of them."

Suddenly, Nala stopped, eyes wide.

"Oh no..." She gasped.

"What's wrong?" Riot queried.

Nala removed her right glove and lifted her hand up. It had been wounded during the earlier fight as the Ursaring's teeth had pierced all the way through the glove.

And she was bleeding.

* * *

The young Skiar turned and saw a dark, Dragon-like shape with only two red glowing eyes visible. Alken could practically feel the evil aura of this creature.

The scene then changed to show the inside of a cavern, which was lit only by a glowing fire pit in the center.

"When you receive this, you will gain the powers of the Dark Elementals. The power that is closest to my own." The voice spoke again. "You must however, be willing to sacrifice anything for it."

"Of course Master! I will do anything for this power!" Skiar's vision went low as he bowed. "State my bidding."

Skiar had a strong, firm voice and this was the first time either of them had heard it.

"You have already been granted this power by me." His master responded. "You need only pay the price from yourself..."

Skiar was suddenly grabbed and dragged towards the fire, which was not more clearly visible as an altar. His hands were bound there, along with his head and neck, which were so close to the fire that Alken and Abetos could practically feel the heat.

"To gain the powers of Darkness, you must embrace it! And become it!" The master's voice continued.

Someone pulled Skiar's eyelids behind, forcing him to keep his eyes wide open. Another clawed hand dipped a sharp object into the fire and brought it towards his face. The young Skiar was screaming like mad now, and that was the last thing he saw.

Alken cringed at the thought of having his eyes torn from his head. Abetos let off a low growl, having gone through a somewhat similar experience of having his vision stripped away from him.

The 'vision' continued however, and the young Skiar's head was shoved into the flames. Another unknown figure was pouring some scalding liquid on his head, which seemed to harden around it.

"And in your Darkness, you will know always that I am your Master."

Skiar shook his head, causing the vision to fade away. Even he didn't seem to like recalling that incident as he rubbed the mask on his face.

(So, that's where the mask came from?) Alken muttered. (You've had it pretty rough, and yet, I see a lot of my own past in you. I had a master I was always trying to please once.

(But not anymore.) Abetos added in.

Skiar let off what seemed to be a soft laugh. Some shouting had started in the room as a couple of Dragons got into an argument.

The Dark Elemental Dragon flipped over the counter and ducked as a chair went flying past. Grinning, he prepared for the chaos that was about to come.

* * *

"Hey Nala..." Riot stepped into the room.

Nala was leaning against the wall with a depressed look on her face.

"I suppose I shouldn't ask how you are then?"

"Thanks for trying to help Riot." Nala raised her bandaged hand. "Will I really become one of those things? Walking around without a soul?"

"Nala..."

"The look in their eyes...I'm scared Riot. I'm afraid to see it again."

"And that is why you also cannot afford to keep running from it." Riot continued. "I've spoken to Sciion for a while, and from our story, he seems to agree that it may have something to do with the shrine."

(Indeed, there was a dark presence that I felt there.) Erizar's voice sounded. (And as she's said, you must find the courage to fight. A remedy to your condition may just lie close by.)

"Find the courage..." Nala whispered.

(Hey, I may have been your typical evil medieval dragon in the past, but you've awakened me to something different. And that's something I'm not about to give up if I can help it.)

"You're right." Nala stood up. "I can't stay here either way, or I'll be a threat to the others. Better for me to go down trying out there then wait for the end here."

"So, you are heading out then?" Sciion walked into the room. "Then allow me to accompany you as well. I too am beginning to have my suspicions about the shrine."

Nala and Riot glanced towards each other, then nodded.

* * *

The village consisted of various caverns amongst the rocky reefs. Part of the village lay beneath the water, and those parts that were above the waves were on fire.

"It looks pretty bad." Hazuki bit her lip.

"Is anyone there?!" Alric shouted. He let off a long, sharp whistle, which was soon answered by several similar calls.

One by one, Lapras heads popped out of the water. Most were pretty young and all looked very frightened.

"The pirates came back here again." An older one told Alric.

"I realize that." The leader responded. "How is everyone?"

"All safe and accounted for. We all had enough time to flee and hide down in the shelters, but I don't think they were after us this time."

"Boss, all the food stores have been raided." Another Lapras reported. "Looks like they got everything."

"Sounds like you have some major problems here." Gwyen remarked.

"These waters used to be peaceful until the Aqua Dragon pirates showed up." Alric sighed. "We constantly give food offerings to them, but nothing seems to satisfy them and they just keep coming back to steal more and more."

"Those are Water-based Dragons?" Hazuki asked.

"Yes, just as adept in the sea as we are." Alric replied. "The migration season is coming up, and without our food stores of fish...we'll probably have to move."

There came a series of chattering amongst the Lapras clan.

"Hey, how can you guys just run away and let them bully you into submission like that?" Hazuki tapped the back of Alric's head. "Are there really that many of them?!"

"No, not many actually. It's just that..." Alric looked down. "We just don't have what it takes to fight. There's no way we can possible defeat them."

"That's nonsense! It just sounds like an excuse you keep telling yourselves." Gwyen snapped. "The more fear you give the bullies, the more powerful they become."

(I won't stand for this either!) Asiyu's voice boomed. (My people aren't going to be allowed to suffer while I can do something about it.)

The Lapras looked around on confusion, trying to find the source of the mysterious voice.

"Hey Asiyu, are you sure that was OK?" Hazuki asked with concern.

"Asiyu?" Alric wondered. "The Goddess?"

(Hazuki, Gwyen, let me talk to them now.)

The pair nodded and melded into Asiyu's form, leaving the Ice Dragon standing atop Alric's back. There were astonished gasps from the crowd, but eventually all the Lapras were bowing down to her.

"Whoa, hey, just look up you all." Asiyu waved her claws. "I want to help you all, but you too have to be willing to fight alongside me. And this isn't an obligation, but something I want you to do on your own free will."

(Yeah come on! I know you guys can do it!) Gwyen urged.

"You two possess the spirit of the Goddess within you..." Alric stared, mouth-opened.

(Well, that's not exactly how it works.) Hazuki muttered.

Alric turned towards his clan and then to Asiyu on his back.

"Let me be the first to say yes then." He nodded. Cheers soon arose as the rest of the clan followed suit.

"Hazuki, I know you're worried about your sister." Asiyu whispered.

(Don't worry, I understand. These guys need the help too.) The blue haired girl replied. (I know that you'll go all out to help Yusia when the time comes.)

"Thank you Hazuki. Now, we need to get a plan into action." Asiyu declared.

* * *

Firestorm suddenly found himself on his feet, roaring as he let off a spray of flames.

"Intruders!" The Nidoking yelled.

"Where'd they come from?!" A Marowak spun around.

"Who cares?! Get them!!" The Nidoking ordered. "Rarrgghh!!"

The dinosaur charged forward, only to be stopped when Nightslice landed a kick in his stomach. The Scizor was back to normal too, and stood in a battle stance as the Nidoking fell.

"Guess no one saw us changing back." Nightslice whispered.

"It's better that way." Firestorm growled. "I don't want them knowing that I was almost their vegetable stew."

Marowak hurled his bone boomerang, catching Nightslice at the side of his head. A Tyranitar and an Electabuzz barged into the kitchen as well, in addition to the Nidoking who was slowly pulling himself up.

_Not good odds! _Firestorm thought as he grabbed a pan and tossed it at the nearest opponent.

Electabuzz simply shot the pan away with an electrical burst. Firestorm then charged in at close range and tackled Electabuzz. The other three tried to help, but Nightslice got up and distracted them by overturning a table.

Firestorm struggled with Electabuzz, who had his claws around the Charizard's neck. He was desperately trying to adjust his aim when the Electabuzz's eyes suddenly went wide.

The Thunder elemental dropped to the ground, revealing a grinning Flygon behind him.

"Vance!!" Firestorm realized.

"Wow, I never thought it would feel so good to be able to move again." Vance remarked.

"Give me a hand here then! Gargh!!" Nightslice was tossed to the other side of the room.

As the stunned Scizor struggled to his feet, Nidoking rammed him into the wall. Nightslice grunted in pain as one of the dinosaur's horns even managed to pierce through his armor plating, leaving a bleeding wound at his left side.

"Hey you!!" Firestorm lunged for the Marowak, whose boomerang toss went wide.

The weapon smashed into a stove, knocking it down and causing a small fire to start. Vance flew around the Tyranitar as the Rock/Dark type fired a Hyper Beam, destroying even more of the area.

The boomerang spun in the air and came back as Tyranitar turned. It smacked Tyranitar's head just as a Hyper Beam went off, taking Marowak out as well.

Distracted by the fall of his comrades, the Nidoking failed to notice as Nightslice counterattacked, jabbing him in the stomach and hurling him into the wall. He followed that up with a series of punches that knocked the dinosaur out for the count.

"What the hell is going on down here?!" Juncan dashed downstairs to find a scene of chaos. He was also carrying a bound and gagged Garrick with him.

"You're next buddy!" Firestorm pointed.

"Damn, you just won't die, will you?! Well, I'll fix that!" Juncan whipped out a large gun and fired.

Small syringe-shaped bullets whizzed through the air and jabbed Firestorm and Vance on their legs, causing both to fall over, roaring in pain.

With a scream of fury, Nightslice tackled Juncan, sending both rolling over to the side in a fierce struggle. That abruptly ended when Juncan got the barrel of his gun in front of Nightslice's chest and fired.

"Rargh!! Garghh!!" Nightslice stumbled back, the 'dart' piercing through his armor.

Juncan shoved him away as he pulled the pin off a grenade.

"Poison darts are handy, aren't they?" He taunted the weakened trio. "Now I just need to...huh?!"

Garrick's bondings were all over the floor, but the Bulbasaur himself was missing.

"What the?! Oh shit!!" Juncan dropped the grenade on the floor and ran.

"Noo!!" Nightslice yelled. "Damn, we've got to get...ggarrghhh..."

The poison Juncan had shot them with was taking full effect, slowing them down to the point where they could barely move.

To make matters worse, the grenade soon went off...sending the ceiling crashing down on their heads.


	14. Dark Thunder

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Dark Thunder**

By nightdragon0

_Arrgghhh...I hate it when that happens. _Firestorm told himself.

He was slowly regaining consciousness, but from what he was feeling, Storm wasn't sure he wanted to.

_I want to be able to feel my toes! Flap my wings! Move my tail! Garrghhh...why can't I?! Dammit nnoo!!_

He could still think as far as he knew, but realizing that he couldn't move was the major problem. That meant that he was either dead, or...

Firestorm forced his eyes open and was greeted by a scene of great dismay. He was back in the garden of the ancient tree...and as a plant himself.

"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOO!! Not this again!!" He wailed.

"Ugh...must you announce it to the entire place?!" Nightslice moaned. The Scizor was also in plant form and didn't look too happy about it either.

"I think they brought us back here after that roof came down." Vance, also as a plant, called from behind the pair.

"Come on! This has to be a joke!!" Firestorm growled, struggling in vain. He remained firmly rooted to the spot. "Don't tell me that old tree really bought the speech you gave it Nightslice."

"Hey, it was something that had to be done." Nightslice muttered. "Despite the costs..."

"Even if it means we're stuck here as vegetables for good?!" Firestorm yelled.

"Some things are worth sacrificing for honor's sake. You remember that right? I have a feeling that you were thinking the same way."

"You just have to bring out the worst in me." The Charizard moaned sarcastically.

"The two of you seem to share a pretty strong bond." Vance commented.

"Humph." Firestorm huffed. His mood however, quickly changed when he spotted Garrick coming into view. "YOU!!"

"I..." Garrick began.

"What you ungrateful little b#stard?! We risk our necks to save yours and this is how you repay us?!" Firestorm roared. "Sure, stick us back here and pretend the whole f#&#ing thing never happened?! I swear, I'm gonna find some way to get my claws out and rip that crappy little head off your shoulders, even if..."

"I know, I know that I misjudged you." Garrick muttered. "And I want to apologize..."

"Apologize my ass!! I'm still stuck in your little garden, and as what?! Part of it!!"

"Look, you lot were badly poisoned in the fight, so we brought you back here to let the Earth heal your wounds. But..."

"But what?! After you not only turned us into a couple of potted plants, but brainwashed us and..."

"You'll be free to go after this." Garrick finished. "The Ancient One sees you trustworthy...and I owe you I guess. So do the rest of my people whom I was able to save thanks to your help."

Firestorm stopped and simply stared, shocked.

"Excuse his profanities, he's never been good at public relations." Nightslice grinned.

"Hey!!"

"Hmmm, he sure fits the typical characteristics of Charizards." Vance added in. "Hot-tempered and..."

"Rargghh! Stop picking on me!!" Storm wiggled about. "Let me move now!! I'm gonna flame both of you!!"

"It'll take a while more for you to be cured." Garrick explained. "Let the poison flow out through your roots and the waters of the eternal spring take their place."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Firestorm asked.

"Just relax and let it happen naturally."

"Wait, you mentioned the eternal spring Garrick." Nightslice cut in. "Juncan was looking for that too. What's it all about?"

"Why don't I show you instead?" Garrick nodded.

The green dino took a few steps back and slammed one of his vines into the ground, stirring up a lot of the early morning dew from the grass there. As the cold water rained down on them, the others saw that Garrick had actually been tapping a smooth stone concealed there.

Garrick held a paw to the stone and a bright green light emerged from the ground. The flash was very bright, forcing the others to squint, though they could still make out the scenery changing around them.

With the view clear again, all gasped at the area they'd been transported into.

* * *

The bar squabble had been short, but furious. Fortunately, Skiar had been more than prepared to deal with any fool who'd dared to challenge him.

Alken was impressed at his dragon's ability to both take on and counter attacks from multiple directions. Trying to figure out how the Legendary Dragon fought through his 'sixth sense' however, was the thing that left him pretty stunned.

Skiar had left amidst the chaos and was walking, silently as ever, down a forested path. The cloudy sky hid out much of the moonlight, though the dark elemental Dragon was hardly bothered by it.

Still something didn't feel quite right.

Even with his acute senses, Skiar felt he was being watched and conveyed the thought to Alken.

(What could get past you?) Alken wondered.

(Someone who's from this region, trained in stealth, or possibly both.) Abetos suggested.

Skiar grunted, seemingly in response. Then, he was sent stumbling an instant later. A thin translucent string had been set up between two trees on opposite sides of the road.

In his moment of distraction, Skiar lost his balance and fell forward...straight into a concealed pitfall. The Dragon slammed his head hard against a rock at the bottom, stunning him momentarily.

"There! We have him!" A voice hissed.

A metal cylinder was hurled into the pit, releasing a dark green gas that left Skiar coughing and gasping for air. With the walls of the pit about three times his own height, Skiar's instinct to leap out was met with resistance.

His attackers were jabbing him with blunt metal rods, knocking him back into the gas trap. The first attempt ended with a blow to his chin, and the second a jab to his gut, knocking him breathless.

To make matters worse, the gas had a strong effect which was rapidly slowing Skiar's movements and senses.

(Try changing directions!) Alken urged. (Make your movements less predictable!)

The Dragon fought against the ever-growing weariness in his body and sprang against a wall, digging his claws into it. There was suddenly a lot of screaming in the background, but Skiar focused on keeping his grip. Even the two within the Dark Dragon felt that their 'host' was about to pass out.

Suddenly, a claw reached down and latched onto his wrist. Skiar wasn't in any position to resist and was immediately pulled out onto the grass.

"You fell for them far too easily." A fierce female voice snapped.

Skiar's senses constructed an image of their savior, a humanoid dragon with bird-like wings and talons.

"Is that her? Myollnir?" One of the downed attackers stared.

"Grrr...this is going to make things more complicated." The second one said, standing up.

Both of the attackers had a similar body structure to Skiar.

Their tails were longer and thicker, helping them to balance in their upright stances. Each one wore some metal armor over their heads and upper bodies, but the scales visible beneath were a night black. Although they lacked wings, both were about three feet taller than Skiar, baring their fangs and claws.

These Dragons carried the element of Darkness.

"Shadow Drakes." Myollnir growled. "Your kind of element, eh?"

Skiar made an annoyed snarl and pulled his hand away, struggling to his feet.

(Who are you?!) Alken demanded. (And why are you helping us?)

"Fight first and ask later!" The female Dragon hissed.

The two attackers were back on their feet by now and had retrieved their pole weapons, brandishing them with frightening animosity.

Skiar ducked beneath a pole swing as it smashed a tree behind him. He made the mistake of trying to block the return swing, and paid for that with a broken left wrist. Skiar's face hit the dirt, and he quickly rolled over to avoid having his back smashed by the following downwards strike.

Kicking the pole aside sent the Shadow Drake off balance, giving Skiar the window of opportunity to throw off a Shadow Ball. The energy burst exploded in his opponent's face, knocking the Drake to the floor.

Both warriors sprang to their feet and met head-to-head. The Shadow Drake took advantage of Skiar's injury and twisted his left wrist.

Even as he went down, Skiar managed to shove his opponent away with a roar of fury. However, he also found his right thigh covered in his own red blood, where he'd been stabbed during the frenzy.

The Shadow Drake was back on his feet and approaching fast...with the large, blood-stained dagger.

* * *

Sparkling clear water flowed off a small waterfall and down into a lake below. The rocky surroundings making up the waterfall were of a light gray color and also served as support for the many varieties of plant life there.

A rainbow was visible over the waterfall, along with bright rays of sunlight that shone onto the water, giving it a dazzling effect.

The lake branched off into many small streams, one of which ran by the patch of grass where the transformed group had been brought to.

"Wow..." Nightslice whistled. "Quite a place."

"All my time here and I never expected something like this." Vance glanced around.

"This is an old and sacred place, which those assigned as guardians are destined to protect with our lives." Garrick came forward and explained. "The waters here bring life into nature, supplying the mystic energies that flow from the Earth, to its plants and beyond."

"This is what you've been afraid of intruders attacking?" Firestorm queried. "Why would anyone come here? Just to disrupt the cycle?"

"Well possibly. However the waters here are said to have other effects." Garrick replied. "Drinking the water for long enough is said to grant one eternal life."

"Become an immortal..." Nightslice muttered.

"Only those of the grass element can enter here." Garrick continued. "And because many of us living here are in constant contact with the Earth, it's safe for us to sample a bit. Here..."

With his vines, Garrick scooped up a little water and sprinkled some onto the group's roots.

"I feel like there's a great burst of energy within me." Nightslice realized.

"This is why the eternal spring must always be protected." Garrick stared down into the clear waters.

"Always be protected..." Vance repeated.

"Hm?" Garrick asked.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"We've got our own cause to protect too, remember?" Storm spoke up.

"Of course, I understand." Garrick nodded. "All three of you will be free to go after this."

"Three?" Vance started. "You mean...me too?"

"You helped too. And...I guess you've been kept here against your will for far too long. For now, all of you just calm yourselves and enjoy the sacred aura of the spring."

Vance couldn't hide the delight on his face, and his newfound friends smiled with him.

"Wherever you are Kris, we're coming soon." Nightslice whispered. "Just a while longer..."

* * *

"Thunderbolt!" Myollnir cried out as she launched the attack.

She was startled to find that her opponent simply blocked the electrical charge with the metal pole.

"Electrically insulated gloves..." She muttered. "Smart ass..."

She almost forgot to dodge the next swing, but executed a summersault when the frustrated Drake reversed directions of his swing for a second strike.

Myollnir landed on top of the pole and slid down towards its wielder, giving him a kick in the face for good measure.

Even as the Shadow Drake fell, Myollnir saw him uttering a soft chant.

An Ice Beam shot towards her, forcing the Thunder Dragon to counter with a fire elemental move, Sacred Fire. It sent off a whirl of flames that caused a small explosion.

Stream hissed as the elements met, eventually clearing out to reveal Myollnir standing as the winner.

"Ugh...that was too close for comfort." She grunted.

Skiar's sudden roar of fury had her snapping out of her weariness and rushing to his aid.

The other Legendary Dragon was on the floor, with a Shadow Drake about to gut him with a large hunting knife. Myollnir hit the Drake with a Thunderbolt, turning his attention towards her.

In the next instant, Skiar was no longer there, but had left Alken and Abetos in his place.

The Houndoom was quick to burst out with a Flamethrower, forcing their opponent away. Alken was tall for a human, and yet dwarfed by the size of the Shadow Drake.

Still, it didn't stop him from smashing his gun into the Drake's knee. The dark elemental lurched over in pain and Alken stuck his gun into the Drake's neck.

"Heads up." Alken grinned.

With a burst of gunfire, the Shadow Drake dropped dead amongst a pool of his own bright red blood.

"Even your partners seem to have picked up some of your nature, Skiar." Myollnir commented.

Alken felt a tingling and Skiar took form before he or Abetos could do anything else. The re-joining process took a lot of effort from the worn down Dragon, but also rejuvenated him back to 'full health'.

Skiar snarled, snatched up the fallen Drake's dagger and hurled it towards Myollnir.

The bird-dragon ducked with a scream. However, the dagger hadn't been aimed at her, but instead the throat of the second Shadow Drake, who'd gotten to his feet behind her.

The carcass dropped to the ground with a dull thud, the only sound between the two Dragons for the next few seconds.

"Watch yourself." Myollnir said finally, dusting herself off. "The forces of this new 'Kaiser' await at every corner to catch you unprepared. It's no longer you, just your Spirit Crystal that he wants."

(We'll take note of that, thanks.) Alken replied.

"Well, I'll be going now." Myollnir spread her feathery wings. "Do me a favor and look after old Skiar for me. He seems to be a little rusty around the edges."

(Why help us in the first place?) Abetos questioned.

"My master has his own objectives. They clash with Kaiser's, but that's all I'll say for now."

(You're like us aren't you? Formed in the same way from two separate entities.) Alken pushed. (And you also seem to know Skiar well enough.)

"And what makes you think that?"

(Just cut to the chase. Who's inside of you?)

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know." Myollnir winked as she took off, disappearing into the night sky.

(Finding out is going to be the fun part.) Abetos commented. (Skiar?)

The Dark Dragon still had his head turned upwards, facing the direction Myollnir had disappeared into.

* * *

Being released felt very different from the time they'd first been captured. Neither Storm nor Nightslice could really see what was happening to their plant forms, but it felt like a lot of leaves dropping and the 'vines' being uncoiled from around their bodies.

Before long both were standing by the ancient tree in the garden, finally back to their true forms.

"Man, this feels so good!" Nightslice stretched his limbs.

"Hell yeah." Storm agreed, flapping his wings.

Vance was equally excited and was flying circles around the area in joy.

"He's awfully energetic." Nightslice looked up. "For someone who's been cooped up here as long as he's been, I understand where all his energy comes from."

"Living off the land here does have its advantages." Vance called down. "The pure clean water and fresh air really does a lot for your well being."

"Yeah, and even I feel so much stronger myself." Firestorm clenched his fists. "I'll be sure to take care of Juncan the next time we run into him."

"Hmm, your enemy did manage to take an important item from here though." Garrick gestured. "At the base of the Ancient One, a crystal lay partially buried. It seemed to enhance the growth and strength of the plants here."

"That must've been the glow we saw the very first time we entered this place, remember?" Firestorm nudged his comrade's shoulder.

"A crystal?" Nightslice continued. "A Spirit Crystal perhaps?"

"That's what I was thinking. It's all in the interests of that leafy lizard and his conies anyway."

"Either way, he's got the crystal and there's nothing we can do about it for now."

"I didn't sense the crystal here giving off any particular elemental energy, unlike the others you claimed to have found." Garrick informed them.

"Must've been the Non-elemental (Normal) Spirit Crystal then." Nightslice nodded. "We'll have to do our research later."

"Hey Garrick." Vance flew over them. "Do you mind if I stayed around to, you know, help you out a little?"

"Didn't you want to leave?" The green dino queried.

"Sorta, but I don't have anywhere to go and..."

"Oh, all right. I guess there can be a lot to do around here." Garrick held out a vine to shake the Flygon's claw. "But you'd better keep up with me."

"Always." The Dragon winked.

Silently, Firestorm and Nightslice nodded to each other.

* * *

"This place..." Kris glanced around. "Doesn't seem much like a town to me."

(You didn't really expect the teleporters to bring you all the way, did you?) Bahamut's voice sounded.

"Well, never hurts to hope."

Kris had materialized inside of a small cavern, and walked out into the moonlight. She was at the bottom of a ravine with a shallow stream flowing through it.

The circle of symbols behind Kris gave off one last purple glow before the lights faded out, leaving her with nothing but the moonlight to guide her path.

(Its power is exhausted for now, but you should be able to fall back here if anything goes wrong.) Bahamut informed her.

Kris then remembered her Scizor body and checked over her equipment. Her utility belt was strapped across her shoulders, with her sword's sheath placed between the wings. The communicator was also strapped around her wrist, but with pincers for hands, it would be a pain to operate.

"Hmm, the teleporter definitely isn't instantaneous. It's taken me what? An entire day or so?" Kris muttered, noting the time displayed on her communicator.

(Well, magic isn't necessarily logical.)

"Guess that's true." Kris managed to activate the communicator by crossing her wrists and pressing down on the wrist-mounted device. "Zian? Come in."

All she got was an electronic fizzle, followed by some static.

_Hmmm...perhaps I need a clear area to allow for a better signal reception. _She thought, glancing up the walls of the ravine.

Kris got a running start, then leapt up against the wall. Finding some footing in the uneven rocky surface, she bounded off the wall and propelled herself higher up. Step by step, Kris repeated this process until she was standing at the top, panting.

(Impressive.) Bahamut remarked.

Taking a quick look around to make sure no one was nearby, Kris tried the comn-link again. This time, a voice came through from the other end.

"Receiving your signal Kris." Zian's voice responded. "Seems that you've arrived."

"With some delay, but otherwise I'm all right. What's my position?"

"Let's see, grid 37-4..."

"In English, please."

"Sorry, I mean according to the maps, you're about three miles from your destination of Saffron City." Zian replied. "The terrain is mostly forested and mountainous regions. There is a main highway leading towards the city, but I'd suggest that you stay off that one if you want to keep out of trouble."

"Yeah, I can't take on a whole army by myself..."

(Cut the signal quick!) Bahamut instructed. (I sense another presence nearby!)

"Zian I've got to go! Get back to you soon." Kris shut the comn-link off and sprinted for cover.

A pair of Wyvern-like Pyro Dragon suddenly swooped over the area. Kris' heart was pounding as she dove into the bushes.

_Damn! I was too careless! _

The Wyvern duo continued circling the area and Kris wondered if she'd been spotted. Then came a sudden rustling of leaves as another Dragon approached from the ground.

It was a gray quadrupled Rock Dragon, the very same breed as the one Kris and Nightslice had fought upon entering this new world for the first time. Unfortunately, she was neither able to call on Bahamut, nor get under cover in time.

"Hey, you there!" The Rock Dragon called.

Kris froze, body tense. There wasn't enough light for the Dragon to clearly make her out, not while he was still some distance away at least.

She couldn't run without drawing the attention of the Rock Dragon, and fighting would only attract the two Pyro Dragons above. No matter which path she took, it looked like Kris was on the losing end.

And time was running out.

(Play along with this!) Bahamut whispered hastily.

"Wha...?" Kris gasped.

"Oh, thought you were one of those rebel Pokemon who hang out around this area."

Kris moved an arm and realized that it now looked like Bahamut's in their melded form, complete with the silver armor, three-fingered claws and the retracted arm-blaster.

"Yeah, no problem. Happens to the best of us." She managed.

"Got turned around in the forest?" The Rock Dragon asked casually, stepping up to her side.

"My shortcut didn't turn out so well after all. Should've just stuck to the main road." Kris nodded.

"Just head back in this direction and you'll arrive at a dirt path marked with some stone monuments. Follow that path North and you'll be back at the road before long."

"Thanks, I'll go for it." Kris nodded.

Kris moved away and walked in the opposite direction from the Dragon patrol.

(I put a hologram of myself over your form.) Bahamut explained once they'd made a safe distance. (Luckily it's nighttime, otherwise your shadow might've given us away.)

"Much appreciated. I really owe you for this one." Kris agreed, shrugging off the fact that she barely avoided having three hostile Dragons snapping at her heels.

(Owe me big time is right! You know how embarrassing it is to have to have my form speaking with your voice?! I care about my image you know?!)

"Really, I wonder if it's Lombadra or you who's got the bigger ego?"

(And don't you dare tell anyone I stuck my neck out this much for you.) Bahamut continued without really listening.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Kris gestured.

_But I don't have any fingers to cross right now. Still, I'll need to be at my best. I have a bad feeling that there won't be any second chances the next time... _

* * *

"This is unpleasantly familiar." Jade muttered.

He'd emerged from a cavern similar to Kris', only his was located high up, amongst the cliffs. Ravines and valleys ran out in all directions, though there was a general lack of greenery around. It was dusty and rocky surfaces as far as eye could see.

(Seems like my kind of realm.) Lombadra commented. (What's so bad about it?)

"You won't know. It was an accident that made me part human and part Charizard, but for a while, I was fully Charizard, just like I am now. Back then, I hit my head and forgot who I really was." Jade shook his orange head. "I made a mess of things, almost got myself and my friends killed. It's what scares me really, the feral side of me."

(It's also a side that you'll need to bond with if you want to succeed in this.)

"Huh? You..." Jade certainly hadn't expected that from the Legendary Fire Dragon.

(You're just so simple minded you fool.) Lombadra huffed.

Jade still had his utility belt across his body and communicator around his wrist. However, his communicator just wasn't functioning properly, no matter how he banged it about.

_I should be able to fix this...but I just can't think right now. _Jade thought furiously. _Am I going Charizard already? Or perhaps I'm just tired...letting the stress get to me... _

"I don't know where to go." He finally admitted. "I can't reach Zian or the others."

(Then do something on your own for a change. You'll never get anywhere if you keep depending on others.)

"Yeah, but..."

(Sometimes, you should just let instincts take over.)

"Instincts?" Jade wondered, closing his eyes.

Suddenly, he heard a faint noise. Perhaps it really was far away, maybe it was the wind, or like Lombadra had said, just instinct. But he felt that presence...the presence of others.

_Charizards...the Charisific Valley...I hear their calls! _

"I think I know where to go!" Jade leapt off the cliff and spread his wings, soaring away into the early morning sun.

(Perhaps there's hope for you after all kid.) Lombadra's voice chuckled.


	15. Secrets of the Grave

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Secrets of the Grave**

By nightdragon0

"All clear?" Nala whispered, glancing around.

"From my point of view." Riot called, landing quietly behind the wall.

It's wasn't a very comforting feeling to be leaving the safety of the underground shelter. Heading straight into danger was nothing new to the two, but going up against an enemy that could not die was a whole other thing.

Sciion the Sneasel joined the pair at their hiding place, with a brown backpack strapped firmly on. The party was the edge of the deserted town, and beyond that lay the haunted forest and the shrine within.

"Ahead is Ilex Forest, as you probably know." Sciion explained. "I have a few bottles of Holy Water with me, but let's try to avoid contact as much as possible. The main trail however, has mostly been overrun by the zombies."

"And how do we get around them?" Riot asked.

"I know of a side path that I frequently used. I can't guarantee that it's zombie free, but it is shorter." He continued. "Those things seem to attack by smell and sound, so we'll have to move quickly."

"Sounds like a lot of trouble. Shouldn't I just fly us over the forest?"

"Unfortunately the canopy is too thick for us to enter from the sky."

"Let's do it the hard way then." Nala muttered, patting the pistols strapped by her sides. "As long as we get to the shrine, because I have a strange feeling I know what to do."

"The bell?" Riot suggested.

"Exactly what I was thinking. Ready?" Nala replied.

"Yes, go now!" Sciion agreed, dropping to all fours and breaking into a sprint.

Nala carefully followed, along with Riot flying close to the ground. The path turned out to be a narrow dirt trail surrounded by trees on both sides. It was too dark to see very far past the trees and Nala's heart was pounding wildly.

Suddenly, a pair of dusty yellow claws reached out from the right and grabbed Nala's back. She screamed in panic, but Riot knocked the Electabuzz zombie away with her tail. A second undead creature, a Magmar, sprang out from the other side of the path, arms outstretched.

Nala landed a firm kick to its lower jaw, causing it to stumble. She whipped out a pistol and fired an energy burst into the zombie, which Riot finished off by slicing it in half with a Wing Attack.

"Thanks." Nala breathed.

"Hurry! There might be more coming!" Riot urged.

The two had lost sight of Sciion in those moments of panic and followed the path themselves. All around, loud thumps and footsteps sounded as the resident creatures were alerted to the intruder's presence.

"Not good. We'll need to retreat!" Riot growled, using her Whirlwind ability to knock a couple of Primeapes away.

"No, just help me get to the shrine." Nala insisted. "I just have a really strong hunch. Besides, Sciion might already be there!"

"I hope that hunch of yours is a good one…."

* * *

"I think we're pretty close." Jade commented.

He'd been flying along a rocky valley, following a fast-flowing river upstream for several hours now. Huge mountains stood on both sides, forming a mountain range that practically went above the clouds. It was hard work too, searching in the hot, midday sun.

_I don't even know what to look out for in the first place. _Jade told himself. _But I hear their calls and…wait! _

Up ahead, Jade spotted an odd rock formation on the cliff's edge. It was roughly the shape of a Charizard's head, with the jaws pointed upwards and opened in a 'roar'. Jade flew closer to get a better look, but the winds suddenly blew up in a violent gust.

"Whoa! Hey! What the?!"

The bright and sunny day abruptly changed into a dark and cloudy one. Thunder boomed and rumbled in the skies. Accompanying lightning forked down in the distance.

Moments later, the rain began pouring.

"Damn! Rargh!!" Jade was able to make his way to the side and take shelter in a covered alcove.

(Hmmm….even I wasn't expecting a change as abrupt as that.) Lombadra muttered.

Amidst the crackling of the thunder came a sudden howl….a Charizard's cry of pain.

Jade stuck his head out and found the source, a Charizard on the other wall whose tail flame was a dead giveaway. From what he could see, the Charizard was desperately clinging onto some small rocky outcropping.

He had apparently rammed against the sharp rocks as there was blood on that orange dragon's right shoulder and wing. The wounded figure was also being horribly drenched.

"Heyy!!" Jade shouted against the howling winds of the storm.

The other Charizard briefly looked in his direction. Then, his grip failed and he slipped, plunging straight towards the river below.

Jade barely even thought about his actions before leaping out of his cover and diving down after the injured Charizard. Immediately, the winds and rain were beating mercilessly against his body. Yet, he kept his wings folded in an attempt to pick up speed and reach the fallen Charizard in time.

_Even if I get to him, I might not have the strength to lift him. _Jade realized. _But perhaps there is a way…_

He then steered his fire elemental form away from his quarry, while picking up speed. Jade waited until he had passed the falling dragon, then spread his wings and swerved to the side…back towards the falling Charizard.

Jade grunted as the Charizard's weight slammed into his body, temporarily knocking him breathless. Despite that, he forced himself to keep a tight grip and fly to safety. He had flapped his wings madly to beat the winds despite the fact that they were already sore and aching.

Water stung his eyes as Jade fought off both the cold and the wave of exhaustion.

The wounded Charizard moaned softly, but Jade kept his grip. Now that he was closer, Jade realized that this Charizard was female.

"Hang on lady, I'm gonna get you out of this." Jade said in the most assuring voice he could muster.

It was difficult to be optimistic though. High walls stood on both sides and Jade was barely maintaining his current altitude. There was little chance that he'd be able to lift them both out of the canyon.

(Look for an alternative then!) Lombadra's voice sounded, almost as if he could read Jade's thoughts.

Then, Jade spotted a cave, seemingly carved into the rock just above the water's surface. His strength was quickly fading and Jade knew he had only one shot to make it.

With a final boost of energy, he launched his body towards the cavern.

Everything went blur from then on. All he could remember was the rain, the sounds of thunder, Lombadra's shouting and finally, his head ramming against something hard.

* * *

All was quiet over the reefs of the Lapras village.

However, the silence was soon broken by the sounds of dark figures swimming through the waves. Soon, fins emerged from underwater, followed by the ominous forms of Aqua Dragons.

These were the water elemental Dragons of this world, standing at about 5 feet each. They took the shape a common quadruped lizard, only with a greenish 'sail' along their backs (similar to an ancient reptile know as Dimetrodon). The rest of their bodies were covered in sea-blue scales. There was a single sharp horn on the edge of their snouts.

Finally, their fingers and toes were all webbed, allowing them to swim more easily in the water.

Many also wore pieces of jewelry like gold rings on their horns, fins, or noses. The leader, besides being larger than the rest, was more prominent by the blue bandana he wore bearing the skull and crossbones symbol of the pirates.

"This time, we show those lousy Lapras once and for all." The leader hissed.

"Captain, it seems really quiet here." A subordinate remarked. "Shouldn't there be a whole lot of screaming and chaos by now?"

"So fan out and comb the area. We'll take whatever we find as usual."

The lead Dragon hung back and waited while his men searched the village. Soon, the second Aqua Dragon returned with his report.

"Seems the place is completely deserted Captain." He said. "There's still stashes of food in the caves, but the Lapras are nowhere to be found."

"Humph, they all took off and left?" The leader huffed. "I was looking forward to having a little fun first."

"Check this out! I've never tasted seaweed like this before." A Dragon nearby was handing out a claw-full of seaweed to his companions.

"Yeah and there's a whole lot of fish too." Another laughed. "Man, they must've taken off running so fast they forgot to pack."

"Hey over here!" Came a shout.

A large crowd was gathering towards the southern end of the village. Hooked to the rocks there was a gigantic statue of a Lapras. It had been constructed out of a mixture of wood, coral and metal, wielded together by sections of ice.

The whole thing was easily the size of a luxury liner and required a dozen of the strongest dragons to move it.

"Well well, looks like they left us a present." The leader chuckled. "Seems that they really have left after all?"

"Why'd you say that boss?" A nearby pirate asked.

"Simple, they're running away and leaving an offering for us. What fools!" The leader replied. "Still we have their home and hunting grounds now. Why bother chasing after them when they'll have little chance of surviving out in the open sea? It's just not worth the effort."

"Yeah! Heheh!" The pirates cheered. "It's all ours now!"

"So don't just float there you fools and get all this stuff back to our hideout." The lead Dragon barked.

* * *

"There it is!!" Nala pointed.

Fighting their way through the zombies, Nala and Riot had finally reached the clearing where the shrine stood. It seemed the same as before, a green miniature temple with its front doors hanging open.

A green bell was hanging within, giving off an odd glow in the dark.

"It must have something to do with this!" Nala sprinted towards the bell while Riot continued firing Hyper Beams at the approaching zombies.

Like before, it emitted a strange ringing noise.

"Nothing's happening!" Riot warned. "And they're still coming!"

(No….something has opened.) Erizar's voice sounded.

"What?" Nala asked as she raised her guns to fire.

(Do you remember the very first time you sounded the bell? Try to replicate the same tune.)

"And how am I supposed to do that when all I did was this!" Nala tugged the string a little more lightly this time.

The ringing begun again, but this time continued on for longer than before. All around, the zombies started moaning and attacking more viciously. Riot had to dodge a swift swiping attack from an Electabuzz before knocking it back with her tail.

"Did I get it?" Nala wondered.

"We'll know if we live long enough!" Riot muttered.

The zombies were too numerous to hold off much longer and the pair were losing ground fast, forced to back further and further away. Then came a grinding of stones as a hidden trap door behind the shrine slid open.

"Down there!" Nala ordered, making a break for the opening. "Damn, I wonder if Sciion made it too?"

"I'm afraid we don't have time to wait and find out! Hurry!" Riot urged.

Nodding, Nala sprinted down the stairs hidden within the trap door. Riot landed with both feet on the ground, holding her arms/wings up high like a bird running with its wings spread apart. Moving in this position was slow and awkward for her, but there wasn't much of a choice.

The Aerodactyl sent off a Hyper Beam, tearing through a Smeargle and knocking back several others behind it, before going down the stairway as well.

Fortunately, none of the zombies made it through as the heavy doors begun close. A furred yellow Electabuzz paw reached through just as the doors slammed shut, severing the zombie's arm and at the same time plunging the entire room into blackness.

Panting in the dark, Nala flicked on a flashlight at her belt and strapped another torchlight to Riot's forehead. It was much colder as the two descended and Nala started shivering.

"Grrr…why did I have to wear shorts?" Nala muttered, wrapping her green jacket around her body. She could even see the vapor of Riot's and her own breath condensing.

"Well, nothing much we can do about it." Riot replied. "Better to keep moving on."

"Yeah."

* * *

"Ugh…ow…."

There was definitely something bouncing up and down on his upturned stomach. Moaning, Jade opened his eyes to find a Charmander staring into his face.

"Hi there!" The small lizard waved. "You're finally awake."

"Dan! Don't jump on him like that!" A female voice yelled.

"Aw…big sis…"

Jade now became more aware of his surroundings. His Charizard form was inside a brightly lit cavern and lying on a bed of straw. Another figure moved into view and Jade recognized her as the Charizard he'd saved earlier.

"I hope you're feeling better." The dragoness asked. She had bandages wrapped around her injured right shoulder and wing as well.

"Well, I'm certainly up and running." Jade pulled himself into a sitting position.

"I'd like to thank you….for saving my life back there." The female Charizard said, kneeling down.

"Oh, it was my pleasure." Jade beamed.

"I think he likes you sis!" The Charmander interrupted.

"Shut up!" His sister growled, giving him a whack on his head for good measure. "I don't mean to sound rude after what you did for me, but I'd like to know what you were doing out there."

"I'm a traveler searching for the Charisific Valley. And I was sorta following my instincts." Jade replied, seeing no harm in telling her.

"Your instincts have served you well, because this is it." The female helped him up and walked with him to the cavern's entrance.

Jade gave off a gasp as he looked down. The cavern had been cut into the wall of a steep cliff. Beyond that, more mountains were visible all around, with a huge river running between the two land masses of the valley.

"Then that Charizard-shaped rock I saw…" Jade started.

"Yes, it serves as a hidden entrance to this valley, supposedly protected by the magic of ancient Dragons." She gestured towards a large opening in one of the nearby mountains.

That particular structure was so wide and tall that its peak went above the clouds. It was the other side of the seemingly impassable mountain range Jade had seen earlier.

"Diane, you shouldn't be telling all that stuff, to an outsider especially." A voice snarled. "And bringing him here in particular…..humph."

An older rugged Charizard was perched on a ledge outside. If compared in human years, it would make the new figure about 30, as opposed to Diane and Jade in their early 20s.

"He helped me out back there and was hurt. This was the least I could do to repay him." The female, Diane, replied.

"With all that's been going on, you never should have left the valley in the first place." The older Dragon muttered.

"I was trailing some suspicious character from the Ancient Stone Circle when that storm suddenly came up. Which is more than I can say for you Shugo, sitting on your lazy butt the whole day!"

"And how do you know HE wasn't the one you were following in the first place?!"

"Simple, the intruder wasn't a Charizard." Diane snapped. "I couldn't see him clearly, but I know that much."

"Impossible, the ancient spirits would never have allowed him to pass."

"What about them?! The world around us is changing rapidly while we cling desperately on to old traditions and theories. I'd say Elder Tsung is the one behind all of…."

"Just shut up and don't bring the Elder's name into this!" Shugo roared.

"You know perfectly well that there are suspicions about him, but you just can't bring yourself to admit the truth."

"Elder Tsung is my master and will always be!" Shugo gave everyone a furious glance before flying off.

"Ugh…I'm sorry you had to witness that. My cousin Shugo can be like that sometimes." Diane sighed. "Oh, I don't even know your name yet."

"Call me Jade." The Charizard chimera nodded.

"Well Jade, I'm afraid you've stumbled in on uncertain times." Diane explained. "The abnormal weather conditions are one of the strange occurrences. And the other being the mysterious disappearances of many of our numbers."

"Yeah those include many of the valley elders too." Dan added in, jumping up and down to get more attention.

"Shugo's father was amongst the most recent disappearance cases." Diane continued. "And Elder Tsung is the last of our leaders left."

"Whoa, this certainly was a bad time to drop in." Jade whistled.

(Don't forget your actual mission here.) Lombadra's voice sounded. (Looking for the Spirit Crystals.)

Startled, Jade ran a claw over to his belt pouch and opened it to make sure Lombadra's Spirit Crystal was still there.

"Hey! You've got one of those too!" Dan gasped excitedly. "Elder Tsung has one just like it."

"Hmmm, they do look quite similar." Diane agreed. "Except for color of course. Where'd you get it Jade?"

"This is…erm…a family heirloom." Jade blurted out.

(Oh thanks a lot.) Lombadra muttered sarcastically, directing his thoughts privately towards Jade.

"Interesting." Diane grinned.

"Say, is there any way I could meet your elder about these crystals?" Jade queried.

"I'm afraid that's not possible right now." Diane replied. "With all the disappearances lately, the Elder has been on high security alert and only meets with specific personnel."

(That could be a little setback.) Lombadra commented.

"I see. Well…" Jade put a claw on Lombadra's crystal, unsure of how to proceed next.

"Hey, how about I show you around the valley?" Diane suggested.

"Wow really, that would be cool." Jade smiled.

* * *

Nala and Riot soon found themselves lost in the winding maze of hallways. The entire place had been constructed out of a featureless gray stone that had gotten very dusty over the ages. It was a plain and simple design, fours walls and the occasional T-junction, but the pair remained weary for any kinds of surprises.

They met with no resistance, but the two eventually stumbled upon a suspicious path.

"Looks like someone besides us has been here recently." Nala gestured. "The dust has been stirred up here and there."

"Seems that we should follow this path then." Riot agreed.

Both heads snapped up to a clicking noise in the distance. Someone was running further down the corridor.

"Hey! Who's there?!" Nala drew her guns and sprinted forward.

"Wait Nala! Remember to watch out for traps!!"

The warning came too late and Nala felt a stone shift beneath her foot. The next instant, she was plunging down into the depths with Riot's voice echoing from above. Her lighting went wild as she spun around, completely out of control.

Nala's mind raced. She needed some way to slow her fall, but unlike Riot, she couldn't exactly fly.

That was when she realized she still had her twin pistols clutched firmly in her hands. Nala spun in mid-air, so her weapons pointed downwards, and started firing.

The purple energy beams emitted from the guns revealed the pit as a narrow rock tunnel. She could also hear rocks shattering below as her shots blew them to pieces.

Nala didn't know if she'd been screaming or not, but as the ground came into view, she let off a fierce cry and worked her weapons wildly. In the last moments, Nala stirred up a huge cloud of dust before curling up into a 'ball' and bracing for the impact she knew was coming.

* * *

"Nala! Nala!" Riot furiously banged on the hidden door, which had now shut itself tight. She didn't have much time to consider a more appropriate course of action, for walls suddenly begun to shift around.

Screeching in surprise, Riot dodged back and forth, avoid the moving pieces from the walls, floor and ceiling. If was as if she were stuck within a 'block puzzle' with the owner randomly shifting the pieces back and forth.

Riot jumped up onto a higher section just as a hole opened beneath her. Unfortunately, another stone piece slid out and knocked the back of her head. The blow wasn't very bad to someone literally as hardheaded as an Aerodactyl, but it threw her off balance and straight into the hole.

The prehistoric Pokemon rolled down a series of steps before landing on top of a familiar black cat.

"Ow! Huh? What are you doing here?" Sciion blurted out. "I mean, it's good to see you're all right, but that was quite a fright you gave me."

"I was about to ask you the same question." Riot muttered, lifting her right wing off Sciion's body to allow him to move.

The grinding sounds of the shifting stones had finally stopped, fading into the darkness of the tomb.

"Hmm…they've stopped." Sciion remarked. "That's a relief."

"How did you get down here, may I ask?" Riot said. "Did you ring the bell of the shrine too?"

"The bell? I got cut off and never made it to the shrine." The Sneasel explained. "I was running from the zombies and crawled into a hollow log in desperation. Then, I felt a hidden tunnel in the rotting bark and crawled my way in to here, where I ended up in this maze of corridors."

"I see. I got separated from Nala too."

"I hope she can fend from herself then." Sciion replied grimly. "Navigating these corridors is a nightmare."

"You don't really seem to know this place well. I thought you were familiar with the shrine."

"I'd heard that there was at least a storage cellar beneath the shrine, but not something as intensive as this." Sciion gestured towards the ceiling.

The cat held a flashlight of his own and showed Riot the straight corridor ahead. Behind that was a T-junction, one path from which Sciion had come from, and the other being the stairway which Riot had entered from.

"But since I happened to have had the good fortune of meeting you, perhaps you could help me solve this puzzle over here." Sciion suggested.

"Well, there's a chance it might lead us to Nala and perhaps the source of all the undead too." Riot agreed.

Sciion led her down the path and to a large stone door at a dead-end. At either end of the colossal door stood a stone pedestal with a circular orb embedded into it.

"You see those odd looking characters on the door?" Sciion pointed. "That's an ancient language, which goes something like this: _Two may come, two may pass. Two together and not alone. Two to take the time as one, two to leave the time as one_."

"Some sort of riddle?" Riot stared.

"Look more closely at those pedestals. They're designed to reassemble sundials, the ancient 'clocks' that told time according to the shadow cast by the sun's rays."

"Hmmm…perhaps those pedestals are the key to opening that door?" Riot suggested.

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Sciion nodded. "Let's each take one pedestal and press that orb on them. However, we should hit them at the exact same time."

Riot flapped over to the nearest pedestal and waited while Sciion got into position.

"Give the word." Riot called.

"Right." Sciion replied. "On three. One….Two…Thr…"

A sudden burst of radio static caught both explorers by surprise.

"Sciion! This is Raguragi. What's the status of your mission?" A rough voice came over a com-link, apparently held by Sciion.

It took Riot a couple of seconds to recognize the name Raguragi. During one of their conversations with Kris, their group leader had mentioned Raguragi was the enemy leader who'd kidnapped Yusia.

By that moment, both Riot and Sciion had already pushed down on the orbs. Sciion's eyes went wide with the shock of being discovered.

Riot removed the wing she had on the orb and turned to attack Sciion. That turned out to be a grave mistake, for the next instant, a set of metal bindings sprang out around her. In the blink of an eye, the metal bars had formed a 'net' around Riot's body.

The Aerodactyl's legs and tail were squeezed against her stomach while her head was pushed against her chest. Her wings were left sticking out of her prison, which formed into a circular shape, like a metal ball.

However, there was no way Riot could use her wings to free herself, nor get any other limbs into an appropriate position.

"Rarrgghh!! Garghh!!" She howled.

At the same time, the thick stone doors slowly begun to slide open. Sciion stood starting, turning his head from the door to Riot.

Then, he slowly took his claw off the orb he'd pushed into position. And nothing happened on his side.

"Interesting, seems only one trap can be activated at a time." The Sneasel chuckled evilly.

"You…you've been working with Raguragi all along!" Riot grunted, struggling in vain.

"Indeed, you are correct." Sciion grinned.

"Sciion? You there?" Raguragi's voice came over the com-link again.

"Right here." Sciion responded. "I've managed to get the gateway open and will be at the source of the ghost energy soon. Just got to take care of a minor nuisance first."

"Don't waste too much time." Raguragi ordered as the link clicked off.

"You!! Rarrrrr!!" Riot hissed, beating her mostly immobilized wings against her 'cage'.

"And as I said, I'm going to take care of a minor nuisance." Sciion produced a large blade from his backpack. "Hargh!"

He leapt up and stood on top of Riot's head, lowering the blade to her wing joint. Riot roared in pain as the Sneasel sliced right through the bone and flesh within her wing, severing it completely.

Riot shook her body desperately as Sciion calmly repeated the act on her other wing. He then went on to cut off both her trapped legs and her tail to end it. And Riot was helpless to do anything but watch and scream.

"All this is so you won't move about too much once you become one of the undead." Sciion held the bloodstained blade up and calmly licked it off. "Since, well, you know a little too much now. And that unfortunately means I have to terminate you. But don't worry, I promise to kill your partner just as swiftly."

"You….leave….Nala….alone…." Riot managed.

"You wish." Sciion laughed, extending his long, sharp claws.

The last thing Riot felt was those claws creeping across her neck….before they made a surprisingly clean cut into her throat.


	16. Riot Rebounds! To Summon Erizar!

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Riot Rebounds! To Summon Erizar!**

By nightdragon0

"Ahahahahaha!"

"Zian!! Hey what are you laughing about?!" Firestorm demanded.

"You expect me to believe that kind of story?"

"Hey it was really what happened!! We got captured by a bunch of plants and turned into one of them!!"

"Yeah right."

"Grrr…you little…"

"Easy hot-head." Nightslice held a pincer out to stop his Charizard companion.

After what seemed like ages, Firestorm and Nightslice were finally back at the labs where they'd originally left Zian. And they were currently in his computer room, trying unsuccessfully to tell the former psychic Dragon about their misadventures.

"Well, you're not helping." Firestorm huffed. "Whose side are you on anyway?!"

"We don't have time for this." Nightslice spoke up. "Zian, you said that Kris and Jade headed off using these teleporters?"

"I'll hook you guys up with Ryan and Rynn, who helped your partners to activate the teleporters in the first place." Zian nodded.

"That'll be great. We'll need to get to them as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I can't imagine how Jade could possibly survive without me." Firestorm folded his arms.

"Or how you survive without him." Nightslice muttered under his breath.

"Unfortunately, I haven't received any word from the others." Zian craned his neck to check through his various computer screens. "I last picked up Hazuki and Gwyenvere's signal from out at sea. Nala and Riot have had their own encounters with the teleporters and I've lost contact with them as well, somewhere around the Azalea area in Johto. Alken and Abetos went off on their own, but I believe he's in the Kanto area. And Yusia…"

"Yeah, Raguragi's gang has her." Firestorm sighed. "You mentioned earlier."

"What a mess." Nightslice added in. "Then again, it sure sounds like us."

"You guys are just strange." Zian remarked. "How did we Legendary Dragons come along to help you in the first place?"

"Because we're descended from the ancient Dragon Gods that created you!" Firestorm growled.

"He meant that as a figure of speech, you know?" Nightslice tapped his buddy's shoulder.

"Oh yeah. I knew that of course!"

Nightslice and Zian sighed, sweatdropping.

"Let's quit wasting time and get back into action." Nightslice huffed.

"I second that." Firestorm laughed, spraying out a small wave of flames. "I'm sure the audience has been missing us for way too long…"

* * *

The Aqua Dragons, being more land capable, had built their base along the shores of a small island. Like many of the marine communities, they were built around reefs, which protected the place from the worst of the waves.

Being a pirate's base, the entire island was also surrounded by a high spiked wall constructed out of thick logs, making it a very difficult place to get into uninvited.

It was nighttime and numbers of blazing torches on stands had been lit up.

All along the beaches and on the rocks, the Aqua Dragon pirates were lazing around, singing and roaring in celebration. Many were splashing around in the shallow water, and thumping their bellies against each other as a show of strength. They were all so caught up in the guzzling of food and drinks that almost no one was left on watch.

At the back of the base, the huge Lapras statue had been left floating amongst the reefs. It had been too big and heavy, so the pirates simply decided to leave it in the water and secure it to the rocks instead.

The 'offering' of the Lapras was left alone, and remained silent and motionless until much later at night.

It came as a soft scraping, and then a tapping. Finally, a door at the statue's underbelly opened up and a small figure slipped into the water below. Hidden in the darkness, Hazuki swam out from under the floating statue and surfaced.

"Looks like it's all clear." She commented.

Behind her, the heads of Gwyen, riding Alric, and 6 more Lapras appeared from the dark waters.

"Part one of Asiyu's plan went well enough." Gwyen added in. "But the 9 of us against all of them doesn't sound promising."

((_The plan isn't to start a fight with them immediately, but shake them up a bit and open the gates so the rest of our troops can get in_.)) Asiyu's voice sounded.

"Yeah, but that is the part that's worrying me."

"Too late to turn back now." Alric spoke up. "Besides, this might be our only chance of standing against our foes. I'm not going to let it go to waste."

"That's the spirit." Hazuki smiled, climbing up onto the lead Lapras' back. "Let's hurry!"

Alric and company swam silently out of the docking bay where the Lapras statue had been left and headed towards the gate.

They encountered no pirates blocking their path initially, owing it to the majority of the Aqua Dragons partying in their 'common area'. Alric kept watch nevertheless, and his vigilance was soon rewarded by spotting a pair of guards. Behind them was a cave with a chained door and about 10 captured Lapras, huddling in fear behind the bars.

"Anyone you know?" Hazuki leaned close to Alric's ear and whispered.

"Hard to tell from this distance." Alric replied. "But…I don't want to just leave them there."

"Shouldn't be too hard to bust them out." Gwyen bared her fangs. "The two guards look pretty drunk. Probably been eating all the drugged seaweed we left for them."

"The seeds Hazuki crushed up and added to the seaweed naturally produce a strong sedative." Alric nodded. "Never thought we'd be using them in this manner though."

"One more thing. When fighting, just don't let your conscience get in the way of your thinking." Gwyen told him. "Watch, I've got this one covered."

The Suicune hopped off Alric's back and crept across the shoreline behind the cave. As her companions anxiously looked on, Gwyen approached the guards from the rear and hid herself in the bushes there.

Gwyen snatched up a small rock in her jaws and tossed it at one of the guards. The Aqua Dragon hissed as the stone struck his shoulder, turning his head to see where it had come from. Gwyen deliberately rustled the bushes and the guard stomped forward to investigate, throwing caution out the window in his drunken state of mind.

WHAM!! Gwyen smacked him unconscious with an Iron Tail attack to the head.

"Huh? Wadda find there?" The second guard mumbled as the sound of footsteps returned.

"On nothing much." Gwyen hissed. "Except this!"

BAM!!

Gwyen dragged the two unconscious Dragons into sight of the others and waved to them. Alric quickly swam over and Hazuki leapt off onto the shore.

"That was a great job Gwyen." The blue-haired girl cheered.

"Ha, it was nothing partner." The Suicune raised her head in a cocky grin. "Hurry and open the doors."

Alric frozen the crude lock with an Ice Beam and Hazuki smashed it open with the bottom of her Ankh. There came many excited cries from within the prison, which Alric quickly silenced with a couple of high-pitched notes.

Soon, he managed to explain their plan and those Lapras who were fit and capable were more than willing to help. Alric and Gwyen quickly went to work getting their troops organized.

"Now comes the hard part." Hazuki whispered.

* * *

"Hey, you all right there?"

Riot moaned, surprised to find out that she could still hear anything at all. She did, after all, have a very clear memory of that traitor Sciion slitting her throat open.

The Aerodactyl slowly opened her eyes to find a shimmering, Dragon-like face staring into her eyes.

"Arrrghh!! Ghost!!"

"You should speak for yourself." The Dragon replied.

Actually he was more like a wyvern, built with his upper limbs integrated into his wings. Much like herself, he had a pair of clawed feet and a long tail.

His scale color was a tint of gray, however Riot realized that his body was surrounded by a light, bluish glow. She could also see right through him and saw the ancient walls of that the chamber they currently stood in.

"Speak for myself?" Riot looked down, finally able to find her words. "Gargh!! What the?!"

Riot found that her own form glowed with the ghostly blue light of the Dragon before her.

"I saw what happened to you. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to do anything about it."

"No…I can't be dead…" Riot stuttered. "Damn!!"

"I know." The Dragon hissed. "It sucks…big time."

"And who are you?" Riot asked. "What are you doing down here?"

"Hmm…I guess you don't know me yet Riot. I'm Arist, Legendary Dragon of the Wind." He flapped his wings. "I've met some other members of your group. But I didn't exactly want to be meeting you in this kind of situation."

Riot was still in much of a dazed state, unsure what to make out of it. However, the scraping of shoes on stone suddenly caught her attention.

A bruised Nala stumbled in through the entrance of the room, glancing around. The left side of her forehead was bleeding slightly and the right sleeve of the green sweater she wore had a long rip in it, but otherwise she looked fine.

"Hello?! Anybody here?" Nala called.

"Nala! You're all right!!" Riot instinctively rushed for her partner, only to have her ghostly form pass right through the human girl. "Nala?"

The Aerodactyl stopped short and turned around with a deeply depressed sigh. Nala continued walking and left the room as if she hadn't seen or heard Riot at all.

"Don't think she's sensitive enough to supernatural forces to see us." Arist said softly.

"But I have to do something!!" Riot snapped. "That backstabbing Sneasel is after some 'energy source' hidden in here, and he won't hesitate to take Nala out along the way!!"

"Energy source?"

"Yes, I heard him talking about it."

"Hmmm…he's probably referring to the Ghost Spirit Crystal." Arist replied.

"A Spirit Crystal? Here?" Riot asked excitedly. "And of Ghost energy? Is it what's causing all the problems on the surface?"

"It's quite likely." Arist nodded. "It's also what's forcing our souls to keep lingering in this world."

"Wait a minute…keeping our souls here? Did I hear that right?"

"Unfortunately so. The Crystal literally absorbs the wandering souls here." Arist said grimly. "The energy field is creates prevents us from being able to move on. All the others who were lost down here have already submitted to this fate."

"And you're the last one left?"

"I'm been trying to keep my hopes up. Praying that someone with the ability would come to my rescue, especially after I managed to tap into a little of the Ghost Crystal's energy to send a message to your friends."

"I heard something like that happened during one of the battles my companions fought." Riot muttered. "Perhaps that was what drew us to this condemned place when we activated the teleporter."

"Hey we should follow your partner." Arist suggested. "I'll warn you first, just don't get too close to the Ghost Spirit Crystal if she finds it, otherwise it'll absorb your soul."

"And I'll be lost forever? Oh pretty." Riot groaned sarcastically.

"Come on then." Arist spread his wings and flew forwards, passing straight through the nearest wall.

"Huh? Whoa!!" Riot gasped.

"Don't be so surprised." Arist stuck his head through the wall and back into the room. "As a ghost, matter is but an illusion to you."

"Er…yes, I've got it." Riot nervously ran her tongue across her fangs.

Closing her eyes, she mimicked Arist's action and passed through the solid wall into the rooms beyond.

* * *

"Hmm…" The Aqua Dragon looked drowsily up. "Raagghhh!!"

He was promptly hit in the face by a Hydro Pump, which sent him flying off his perch on the rock and into the water. Beneath the surface, two Lapras Body Slammed the Dragon into submission.

A second pirate Dragon snapped up in alarm. The Lapras head of Alric quickly popped out from beneath the surface and hit him with an Ice Beam, freezing his jaws shut.

Gwyen leapt across the stone platforms and approached the Dragon from behind. The Suicune sent an Iron Tail to the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

"That's another one." Hazuki noted.

To reach the point where they could open the barriers surrounding the pirate's base, the Lapras had to swim through a relatively shallow lagoon. Scattered around the pool were rocky surfaces that served as resting platforms for the pirates. And further off to the west lay the main pirate encampment, where the majority of the Aqua Dragons were gathered.

The original idea was to sneak past the main group and open the gates. However, this was now made more complicated because several Dragons had left the main beach and returned to various perches across the lagoon.

Therefore, the group had to move slowly and carefully take out the stray guards without giving them a chance to sound the alarm. All had gone well so far, and the team was practically in front of the main gate.

Hazuki knelt down on Alric's back and studied the situation for a while. There were two levels to the gate, with one guard on each level. A large metal bell that spanned the entire two levels was suspended above the water there, most likely to serve as an intruder warning.

"I'll go for the one above." Gwyen stuck her head over Hazuki's shoulder. "I'll give you guys a signal, then you take the bottom guy at the same time. That'll prevent either of them from sounding the bell."

"All right. Let's do that." Hazuki agreed.

Gwyen rode on the back of a young female Lapras named Umi, who brought her to the end of the lower platform, where a wooden ladder was placed to allow easier access to the second level. Hazuki, Alric and the rest of the group crouched behind nearby rocks and waited.

Umi pushed Gwyen with her head, giving the water elemental 'dog' a boost and lifting her high enough to reach the ladder. Gwyen was able to grip it with her front paws and steadily pulled herself upwards.

Near the top however, the ladder shook and came loose. Gwyen started and instinctively jumped up to grab the ledge of the higher platform.

Gwyen was left literally hanging there…as the wooden ladder clattered loudly against the rocks below. Both of the Aqua Dragons were immediately alerted.

Alric brought his head up and fired an Ice Beam at the guard on the lower level. The shot was too far to the left and the Aqua Dragon dodged it, then made a break for the bell.

From her position on Alric's back, Hazuki brought up her Mitra Ankh and focused her powers towards it. A couple of sharp-tipped icicles shot out and stabbed the Aqua Dragon in the knee. The pirate let off a howl of pain as another Lapras' Hydro Pump took him off the platform.

The upper level Dragon was stunned by this sudden turn of events and Gwyen made use of the advantage to pull herself up. She charged the Dragon, who lashed out with his claws.

The Suicune took a couple of long scrapes across her right side, and howled in pain as she launched Iron Tail, swinging the glowing tail towards the pirate's face. Her opponent ducked beneath the attack and opened his jaws, spraying water out in the form of a Hydro Pump attack.

Gwyen was thrown against the wooden wall, cracking part of it and getting a bunch of splinters in her side. The Aqua Dragon hissed and placed his claws together, electricity sparkling between them.

_Aw crap! They can use electric attacks?! _Gwyen thought.

"Mirror Coat!" Gwyen placed the magical barrier up, just in time to feel the full force of the Thunderbolt crackling through her body. Mirror Coat was a counter spell however, which absorbed the energy of the Thunderbolt and sent it back twice-fold in the form of a powerful glowing beam.

BOOM!! The Aqua Dragon took the explosion head-on and went flying….right into the bell. That caused the bell to start ringing, giving off a thunderously loud noise.

"Uh-oh…" Gwyen moaned, sweatdropping.

* * *

"Erizar, anything now?" Nala asked as she stepped into the next room.

((_Nothing_.)) The ancient Dragon's voice responded. ((_But…_))

"Still feel the pain?"

((_Not as much now. But those shocks from earlier hurt to the core_.))

"Is it about Riot?"

((_Possibly, since we are all bonded now_.)) Erizar's voice seemed weaker, as if she were growing more exhausted and was trying not to show it to Nala.

"I'm really afraid for her." Nala muttered. "What if something's happened to her?"

This particular room was square-shaped and had three other exits, unlike the previous ones. Four stone pillars also stood at each of the four corners, though Nala was unsure of their uses.

"Huh?!" Nala suddenly whirled around.

She'd felt as if a cold presence had swept past her, and yet there was nothing else in the room.

((_What is it?_))

"Oh…nothing…"

"Damn, nothing?!" The ghost of Riot screeched, hovering close to Nala.

"She can't see or hear us Riot." Arist said from the rear.

"But I…oh no!" Riot turned her head upwards.

Hidden behind one of the pillars was the dark form of Sciion. The Sneasel hung back there, watching Nala with interest.

"No!! Nala!! Watch out for him!!" Riot called desperately.

Sciion felt around the pillar until he pressed several small sections of it. Immediately, a low rumbling started sounding as the entire underground shrine shook.

Nala managed to flip away as parts of the floor beneath her feet collapsed into the darkness below. Frantically, she shone the flashlight on her belt around and was greeted to an astonishing sight. Different bricks and tiles were all moving simultaneously as the room rearranged itself.

The next few moments were intense as Nala leapt about, jumping across the moving sections and the deadly holes. The adrenaline rush kicked in and Nala moved more through instinct than anything else.

BAM!! Nala hopped up as two bricks clanged together where her feet once stood. She pulled back as a wall formed in front of her and dropped to all fours to crawl through a narrow space before it was sealed off.

Finally, she made it to one of the doorways and threw herself into it, panting wildly.

All the movements had finally stopped, leaving the previous room in a greatly disorganized mess of bricks. It reminded Nala of one of those wooden puzzles where you had to unlock all the pieces and take it apart, only that whoever was trying to solve this puzzle had left everything in a total mess.

The room beyond had changed too, although it was very different from the previous. This one had a pyramid-like structure take shape in the center of the area, and at the top lay a sparkling object, which Nala squinted to make out by the beam of her flashlight.

"Hey! That you over there girl?" A voice called out.

Nala looked up to see Sciion climbing over the mess in the previous room. The black cat was holding a small lantern of his own.

"Sciion? What are you doing here?" Nala asked, clearly feeling a lot more relieved.

"Same thing you are I guess." Sciion replied. "Lost and wandering around."

"Have you run into Riot anywhere?"

"Riot? Oh, the Aerodactyl? Well, I haven't, or I certainly would've brought her along with me…" Sciion shrugged, walking closer.

"Nala!! No!!" Riot's ghost cried in vain. "You can't trust that backstabbing liar!! Damn, what can I do…?"

Then, Riot caught sight of the pistols strapped by Nala's sides.

_The pistols! They hold some form of Erizar's spirit! I wonder if…_

"Hey what are you…" Arist never got to finish his sentence because Riot's image sprang forward and went right into Nala's left hand pistol.

((_Nala!_ _Duck left now!_)) Riot ordered.

Upon hearing her partner's voice, Nala instinctively complied. That was just in time to avoid Sciion's swift claw thrust, which would've gotten Nala in the chest.

Instead, the cat fell over and crashed into a wall.

"Wha…" Sciion stared.

"Riot?" Nala gasped. "Where…?"

((_Hey! What are you doing in here?!_)) Erizar added in.

((_No time to explain!!_)) Riot yelled. ((_Take Sciion out now or you'll end up like me!_))

"You…" Nala drew both her pistols.

With a ferocious growl, Sciion pounced and slashed Nala across her right shoulder. Ignoring the pain, Nala hit him with a spinning kick, knocking the cat away. The Sneasel rebounded off the wall and came right back with a Faint Attack, bashing Nala to the ground.

Fortunately, she was nimble enough to move away as Sciion threw the large blade he'd used against Riot earlier. With a clang, the weapon bounced off the stones and rolled away.

Nala was on her feet as Sciion bounded towards her. With one swing, she spun in a 180 degrees turn, knocking Sciion's head with one pistol and shooting him with the other.

Screaming, the cat flew backwards and landed amidst the mess in the other room. Suddenly, the grinding sounds came up again and the room begun to rearrange itself once more.

"No! The timer is up already?!" Sciion hissed in disbelief, dodging the moving stones.

Nala, in the adjacent room, felt the trembling as well. The pyramid structure was slowly sinking into the ground, taking its glowing treasure with it.

((_Nala!_ _Get it!_)) Riot indicated. ((_I think I know what it is!_))

With a slight nod, Nala broke into a mad dash. Parts of the floor were either rising or collapsing, and Nala skipped between the shifting stones.

From the rear came the clicking of claws as Sciion had caught up to her. At the same time, both reached the edge of the newly formed pit and leapt towards the glittering object.

* * *

Time seemed to slow down as the Sneasel aimed a deadly Slash attack towards Nala. Still in mid-air, Nala sensed the attack and spun her body around so that her view was facing the ceiling. Leaning her head and arms backwards, Nala whirled in a full head-over-heels spin.

Sciion's claws managed to get a scrape across Nala's exposed belly, but by the end of the maneuver, Nala was facing Sciion with one of her guns raised.

"You lose." She snarled, pulling the trigger.

BOOM!! With a long screech, Sciion tumbled into the depths of the pit. The blast also had the added effect of propelling Nala towards the center of the descending pyramid.

Using her free right hand, Nala snatched the object and pushed off the flat platform. That gave her the extra boost needed to get her body over the other side of the pit and to the safety of the ledge.

Heart pounding with the intensity, Nala stumbled over to the closest door and dropped to her knees. Now that she actually had time to look, Nala realized that the object she held was a crystal…a light purple colored crystal with an odd glow.

"That's the Ghost Spirit Crystal." Arist's voice sounded.

Nala looked up and saw the shimmering image of the wyvern hovering nearby.

"You….you're one of the Legendary Dragons too?" She asked.

"Well, I was at least."

"Hey wait a minute! She can see you now?!" A shimmering image of Riot suddenly materialized beside Arist's.

"I believe it's an effect of contact with the Ghost Crystal." Arist spoke. "Its energy is directed towards letting you contact us, the displaced souls here. Therefore, causing it to lose its other effects temporarily."

"But Riot, if I see you like this, then…" Nala turned and begun walking towards Riot's image.

"Nala…I…"

"Whoa!! Arrghh!!" Nala was so distracted that she didn't see the flight of stairs until she fell down them.

The dark-haired girl ungracefully toppled to the bottom and literally ended up face-to-face with the skull of a large wyvern. Nala cried out in shock and crawled backwards.

"Hey, could you at least show a little respect for my corpse?" Arist moaned dryly.

"Sorry…" Nala breathed.

It was then that she realized she'd accidentally stuck Ghost Crystal into the wyvern skull. The rattling was soft at first, but soon all the bones around it started vibrating in their places.

"What the…?!" Arist stared. "No way!!"

Nala scrambled up the stairs as the bones slowly re-arranged themselves into their original shape….the form of the large wyvern-style body of Arist, only in a pure skeletal form.

The new 'Bone Dragon' snapped its jaws viciously about, as if snarling and growling in battle. And Nala swore that it was eyeing her, despite the creature having no eyeballs left in its hollow sockets.

"Can't you stop your body or something?!" Riot asked.

"No, I haven't got any control over it!" Arist responded.

Even as the words left his jaws, the Bone Dragon form of Arist charged, smashing Nala straight through the closest wall. Groaning in pain, Nala pulled herself up and started firing.

But it was all to no avail however, for the Bone Dragon simply kept coming. Nala ducked beneath a tail swipe and barely managed to avoid being crushed by a barrage of stones the thing shook from the ceiling.

((_You can't fight this abomination by yourself!_)) Erizar warned.

"Normally, I'd be offended by that." Arist hissed. "But in this case, she's right."

"But we can't give Erizar her physical form." Riot muttered. "Not without me…"

"AARRGGHH!!" Nala ducked as the Bone Dragon smashed a large hole in the ceiling, sending tons of debris falling through.

Luckily, something softer landed on top of Nala and blocked out the impact from most of the debris. However, it didn't help much for Nala's confidence when she saw that it was really Riot's dismembered carcass.

"Ugh…I wish you didn't have to see that Nala…" Riot's 'soul' closed her eyes and turned away. "If only I wasn't so stupid, I'd still be able to…"

"Your heartbeat!" Nala raised her voice. "It's still there!"

"What?!"

"Faintly, but its here."

((_There's still a chance it'll work_.)) Erizar decided. ((_You have to try and Dragon Meld! It's the only choice all of us have right now!_))

"But what if it doesn't work?" Riot asked. "Nala can't hold your physical form by herself!"

((_I know. The result won't be pretty…for all three of us…_))

"Let's go for it." Nala held her pistols up, crossed against her chest.

Facing them was the Bone Dragon, 'roaring' intimidatingly, although it lacked the vocal cords to make any noise.

"That's my girl." Riot grinned, flying her image to hover behind Nala.

"Dragon Meld! Unleash!" The pair shouted together.

"Guys!! RRARGH!!" Even Arist was blinded by the light and was forced to look away. "Nala! Riot!!"

The Legendary Wind Dragon feared the worst when he heard screams, but soon, the dust cleared to dispel his fears.

A massive 8 foot 'hydra' Dragon had engaged the Bone Dragon. Erizar was grabbing its wings with her two side heads, while the main one bit and snapped at the Bone Dragon. The smaller Bone Dragon slipped away and flew to the side of the room, where Erizar turned to face it.

"Venom's Retribution...Erizar!" She roared, landing firmly on all fours.

"It really worked!" The right head, with Nala's voice, laughed.

"At least we have a fighting chance now." The left head, Riot, agreed.

"Don't look to confident now girls." Erizar, the main head, ordered. "This battle has only just begun!!"


	17. A Sword and a Dragon

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**A Sword and a Dragon**

By nightdragon0

_What the…?! How did I end up here?_

Kris' thoughts floated unsteadily about in the darkness. The world around her was shifting, though Kris didn't want to open her eyes just yet. The Scizor somehow knew that she wouldn't like it when she did.

_Oh yeah…now I remember. Damn, that was stupid…_

She had been making her way through the forest, keeping to the innermost parts and allowing the shadows to cover her. It had gone on for a couple of nights, with Kris hiding in caves during the day.

The path had brought her to the outskirts of what would've been Lavender Town in her home world, and Kris had intended to avoid going too near. But it had been raining heavily on the third night, and even with her natural night vision, the journey was slow.

Then, Kris had heard the cries. Up on a hill ahead, she'd seen a figure collapse and go rolling down the rocky path. It wasn't a Dragon, but a Scyther instead…and it was badly hurt.

Instinctively, she left her cover and went out, catching the wounded bug before he could hit the ground.

* * *

**Flashback…**

"Uggh…arghh…"

"Don't move too much. You're badly injured." Kris looked down at the young Scyther. He was not only bruised and scarred all over, but both his wings were badly torn up and his left scythe 'hand' was broken in half.

"You…you're…" He moaned softly, opening his eyes and staring for a long time, as if he was unable to focus clearly. "You…shouldn't be here. Or they'll do the same thing to you…"

"Don't talk. You need to rest." Kris lifted his body closer to her face and whispered into his ear.

"No…it's…too late for me now…" He replied weakly. "I just….had to leave that place….that arena…to be free…even just for….a while…"

Kris could only look on as the dying Scyther breathed out his final words. She realized that there were several long bleeding cuts across his shoulders and legs.

"One last time….before…I…ugh…before…I…" The Scyther coughed up blood through his mouth, then Kris felt his movements go limp as he closed his eyes.

_((He's gone…_)) Bahamut's voice whispered.

Kris just stood there for a while before placing his body down. A memory sprang up in her mind, one of Nightslice when she had first found him, many years ago. Badly wounded and almost as young as this one.

In those minutes of recollection, Kris failed to notice anything around her…and that proved to be a big mistake. She ended up jumping in fright when a loud roar sounded from close-by.

Turning towards the source, she was suddenly jumped on by a Shadow Drake. Kris was barely able to avoid the humanoid Dragon's deadly claws, but another one appeared and took her from behind.

The claw slash cut downwards, resulting in a scar appearing across her armored back. A Scizor's armor was supposed to be like steel, but even this attack hurt like hell.

Kris had kept her wings closed, and now spread them with a sword-like swipe, knocking the rear assailant away. The Shadow Drake rebounded off a tree and Kris took him on with a spinning kick, followed by a Metal Claw attack to the head.

Although the first one went down, the second Dragon moved away as Kris swung her claws at him. The dark Dragon leapt out a tree and held out a claw, chanting softly.

Kris was suddenly hit by some unseen force and felt her stomach lurch. Her vision almost blacked out, but Kris forced her eyes open…and found herself seeing two of everything.

"Gargh…Confuse Ray?!" She panted.

She swung wildly at something that wasn't really there, and took a hard whack in the back for that. Bahamut was yelling out something that Kris couldn't be bothered to listen to as she spun with her back leg, hitting into something hard.

Pain shot through her entire body and the Scizor dropped to her knees. Her vision was still blurry, but Kris could make out the shapes of the two Dragons before her, now having been joined by a third.

This one seemed like a third Shadow Drake at first, but at closer glance, it had a slimmer form and its scales were a metallic silver color instead. The other distinctive feature he had was a frill of spikes forming along the back of his head and the single horn on the end of his snout.

The newcomer charged and Kris saw the dual crescent-shaped blades he wielded only moments before he made contact.

With a howl of pain and a new scar across her stomach, Kris went down.

_Steel…he feels like steel. Another Steel Elemental Dragon like Bahamut? No this one is more like a blade…a Saber…Dragon… _

* * *

**Present…**

_Yeah…he took me down hard. Grrraghh…it still hurts…_

Kris realized that the feelings were coming back into her battered body, along with the prangs of pain. That meant she was alive at least, but Kris could feel holdings around her wrists, ankles, waist and neck that were keeping her firmly tied down to a cold metal surface.

She was definitely in some sort of dark room. Light however, poured in when a door opened, forcing Kris to squint and turn away from the glare.

"You're awake." A voice hissed. "You've got that fighting spirit, I knew it from the way you fought just now."

Kris made out the shape of the Steel elemental Saber Dragon from earlier, still with his crescent shaped blades equipped. In the dim lighting, his eyes gave off an eerie reddish glow, making him look ever the more intimidating.

"Your kind is quite rare indeed, so I'd like to know what you were doing in Dragon territory." The Saber Dragon continued. "You another one of that rebel Pokemon group they keep talking about? Or just a lost runaway?"

Kris just snarled and hissed at him, channeling the energy from the pain she felt throughout her body.

"Can't talk? Or just don't want to?" The Dragon huffed, folding his arms. "Well, here we don't care about your past. It's whether you can fight that matters…and you'll make an excellent addition to my battle team."

_Battle_ _team? Oh no…I've got a very bad feeling about this…_

The armed Dragon leaned forward and snapped a collar around Kris' neck with a metallic click.

"From now on, you'll obey my orders and mine alone." The Dragon chuckled, fiddling with a rectangular device between his claws. "Here's a little demonstration…"

The bindings holding Kris down were suddenly released, but the Scizor didn't even have time to think about running before an electrical current coursed throughout her entire body. Her claws instinctively went for the collar, but that only intensified the shocks and Kris let go, dropping back against the table she'd been strapped to.

"That's what'll happen if you fail to follow orders."

Kris was still leaning against the table and panting when the door opened again.

"Hey Klinge! What do you want me to do with this?" One of the Shadow Drakes was there, holding Kris' sword up.

_((Kris? Hey dammit! How the hell did you end up in a mess like this?!)) _The ever arrogant voice of the spirit within the sword called privately to Kris. _((You'd better do something this instant!!)) _

"Just put it in one of the lockers. We might find a use for it later." The Saber Dragon, Klinge, replied.

_((WHAT?! In the locker?! Grrr…I hate this!!)) _Bahamut's voice continued. _((Look, I won't talk to anyone else and try to be inconspicuous, since I assume that's the best course of action for me. But you'd better not let me suffer this embarrassment for too long…)) _

Bahamut's 'voice' seemed to grow softer and softer as the Shadow Drake departed.

_((And….good luck…)) _He added in at the end.

_Well at least he does care a little. _Kris told herself inwardly.

"Well now, where were we?" Klinge turned his head. "Oh yeah, the part where you bow down to your new master."

Kris' eyes went wide with fury. But the electrical charges soon came again, mingling her screams and howls with the crackling of the current.

"Come on, it's not too hard to understand, is it?" Klinge shut off the electrical collar for a while.

Rage boiled with her blood, but Kris just didn't have the physical or mental energy left to fight back. The Dragon started up the shocks again, each one lasting longer than the previous.

In agony, the thoughts ran wildly through Kris' mind. It was her warrior's pride, telling her it was better to die than submit to the enemy.

Yet, another side came up as well…the visions of the others…her friends wandering somewhere in this new world. Scenes of Zian and his kin, who'd fallen to a new darkness. No…she couldn't choose death yet.

And Kris chose to live.

The feeling made her want to chew her guts out….but there she was, down on her knees before the Saber Dragon, who stroked the back of her head affectionately.

"Good girl. I see you do understand." Klinge grinned, showing off his rows of fangs. "Welcome then, to the Lavender Coliseum…an Underground Network of Battle Arenas…in which you'll be fighting…"

* * *

"They're coming!!" Alric gasped, staring across the beach.

The pirates had all been alerted, though they were slow to respond due to them drinking and partying all night long. Still, their numbers far exceeded those of the small Lapras party.

"You've got to hold them off until we open the gates!" Hazuki tapped Alric's shoulder.

"Understood. But try to hurry!"

"I will." Hazuki jumped off his back and swam the short distance to the lower wooden platform. "Gwyen!! You all right?"

"Ugh…go on first." The Suicune panted. She was leaning against the wall of the upper platform, clutching her side with her front paws. "I'm still feeling the shocks of that Thunderbolt."

Nodding, Hazuki pulled herself up onto the platform and ran past the bell. Hydro Pumps and Ice Beams flew everywhere as the battle begun. One of the water blasts smashed into the platform, collapsing an entire section.

That left Gwyen stranded on the upper level, with a large gap separating her from Hazuki's lower platform. Hazuki didn't notice it over the din of the battle and kept on running.

Scanning the area, Hazuki realized that the gates were controlled by a lever close by. However, an Aqua Dragon suddenly emerged from the water and leapt up into Hazuki's path. The blue haired girl screamed and backed away as the Dragon swung his razor claws at her.

"Hazuki!!" Gwyen glanced desperately around for any Lapras to give her a lift, but all the Lapras were busy fighting.

Gwyen saw one go down beneath the surface with an Aqua Dragon's jaws clamped firmly around his neck. Umi was there too, freezing the legs of a Dragon who was perched on another Lapras' back. The Dragon toppled into the water and was slammed down by Umi.

Alric fired off two continuous Hydro Pumps, then took a Slash across his face. Blood dripped down into the water as Alric backed away.

_The Lapras aren't fighters by nature, but they're trying their best. _Gwyen thought.

Hazuki screamed again as a claw swipe narrowly missed her head. She ducked down and chanted softly, firing out a series of icicles that stabbed her opponent's knee. The pirate howled and threshed about, swinging his tail and knocking the wind out of Hazuki as she was thrown into the barrier.

_Come on…I have to do this. What was it that my teacher kept telling me? Feel the flow of the water and feel the flow of the waves… _

Gwyen stepped to the edge and prepared to step off. At the last moment however, she glanced down at the dark moving waters and suddenly felt uneasy. The next instant, she'd landed in the water with a loud splash.

"Gargh!! Gurghh!!" Gwyen spluttered, dragging herself up onto the lower level. "That was not good…"

The young Suicune shot another glance towards her partner, who was still busy dodging the Aqua Dragon's attacks. Hazuki wasn't able to get the gate open because of that, and the Lapras inside the compound were far outnumbered.

_((Take heart…I believe in you.)) _Asiyu's voice rang out in Gwyen's mind. The Ice Dragon's spirit was probably caught up trying to guide Hazuki as well, but she made her voice sound as calm and gentle as ever.

"I can't even do this…" Gwyen moaned softly. "Maybe I'm just good at showing off…I can't even help my partner when she needs me the most!"

_((Keep telling yourself that and it will be true. But were you not one of the two who summoned my spirit?))_

"Yeah, but…"

_((Then it's my belief that I responded because you were worthy of bearing my avatar. Now it's time to prove that!!))_

"Grrr…you're right…" Gwyen growled, turning to face the water. "One more time!!"

Taking several steps back, Gwyen held her breath and focused on the waters before her. Then…she leapt forward.

Her front paws touched the surface of the water with a soft sploosh…and kept on going. One after the other, Gwyen glided across the water.

* * *

"Gurgh!!" Erizar winced, seeing another scar appear across her back. "How can that thing be so fast?!"

"Hey that's my body you're looking at!" Arist's soul called out to them. "I used to be the fastest thing alive!!"

"Will you shut up dead boy?!" Erizar hissed.

"Hey, you're really dead too so don't complain! Just that you've got those two to create a new form for you."

The skeletal wyvern had taking to flying around the upper parts of the room and dive bombing Erizar. Being larger and having to fight in a relatively cramped room, Erizar was an easy target for her swifter foe.

The heads controlled by Nala and Riot sprayed out their Acid attacks, only to hit the walls instead.

"We've got to coordinate our strikes and catch him off guard." Nala muttered.

"Watch for when he comes again." Erizar instructed. "Then relax and follow my flow. You'll feel it pretty well."

The bone wyvern was darting around the ceiling area and now dove down from the left.

Riot curled her head back so that the neck was better protected, resulting in their foe hitting it hard. The wyvern was stunned for an instant, and Erizar quickly shot out with her main head, sinking her fangs into in. Nala sprayed a wave of Acid onto its body, causing the skeletal creature to give out a long, mournful screech.

It struggled violently and shook itself free, knocking Nala's head aside before taking to the roof. Making a flip in mid-flight, the wyvern charged them again, snapping its wings forward at the last moment and using Wing Attack.

Another bloody slash appeared across Erizar's back, but this time the Poison-Dragon hybrid managed to swing her tail, knocking it into the wall. Even as it created an impression of its body in the stone, Arist's skeletal form open its jaws and fired off a breath of orange flames, the Dragon Breath ability.

Nala and Riot both countered with their Acid breaths, resulting in a deafening explosion that threw both Dragons to opposite ends of the room. However, Erizar's mass was so large that her hitting the wall caused the entire room to shake.

With a loud crash, pieces of rock and stone fell from the ceiling. Several of them slammed into the Bone Wyvern, knocking it to the ground.

"Now's our chance!" Erizar ordered, stomping the floor with her front leg. "Earthquake!!"

The ground-type attack sent even more rocks falling from the ceiling. The triple-headed Dragon was hit by a few, but their foe ended up pinned down by a large piece.

Erizar lunged so that Nala and Riot were able to clamp their jaws against the wyvern's wings. With her center head, Erizar bit the Crystal stuck in the wyvern's skull and pulled hard. The skeletal creature struggled and howled, but the Spirit Crystal soon came loose.

For a moment, the purple crystal shone brightly. Then, the light faded away. With it, the skeletal wyvern collapsed into pieces.

* * *

A great sense of accomplishment swept through her, but the desire to aid her partner soon pushed that aside. Letting off a fierce roar, Gwyen charged towards the Aqua Dragon on the opposite platform, who froze up in surprise.

The second's delay was enough for Gwyen to Headbutt him in the stomach, tossing the gasping Dragon aside.

"I knew you'd come!" Hazuki cried happily.

"Hey, didn't doubt me, did you?" Gwyen smirked. With that, she turned and ducked as the pirate Dragon came in for revenge.

The Suicune sank her fangs into his injured knee and kicked him away with her hind legs. The Dragon skidded, but wasn't about to give up and opened his jaws, spraying out a powerful jet of water. Gwyen responded with her own Hydro Pump, leaving the two water attacks at a deadlock.

Hazuki then joined in as well, casting a spell very much like an Ice Beam from her Ankh. The duo's attacks combined and drove the Dragon's Hydro Pump back into his face, knocking him out and into the water.

"Nice!" Gwyen panted. "Now let's hit the switch!"

It took some effort, but Hazuki and Gwyen tugging together eventually got the lever into its down position. Various gears started grinding and the huge wooden doors slowly begun to open.

Hazuki produced a signal flare from her pocket, ignited it, and tossed it up into the air. The white and red sparks would be easily visible to the other Lapras hiding outside.

"That's done." Hazuki nodded. "But…"

The Lapras within the compound were still being driven back, having lost more than half their number already. Scarlet red blood stained the water, accompanied by the roar of the battlers and the wounded.

_((It's time that I joined this battle.))_ Asiyu decided.

"We were just waiting for you to ask." Gwyen growled. "Let's go!!"

Both Hazuki and Gwyen dove into the water. At the same time, a brilliant blue light formed from beneath the surface. Like a rocket, the blue light sped underwater, heading straight towards the center of the battle.

"Urghh…we can't keep this up much longer!" Umi was yelling. "There's too many of them!!"

"We have to!" Alric replied. "Everyone' depending on…garrghhh!!"

An Aqua Dragon lunged out of the water and ploughed into the lead Lapras. Alric overturned in the water and knocked into Umi, stunning them both for a second. By the time they'd recovered, the two were in the center of a circle of pirates.

Both were glancing around in panic when a shinning form emerged from beneath the waves in a great spray of water. Time suddenly seemed to stop for everyone else.

The majestic, blue crystalline scales of Asiyu sparkled as the quadruped Dragon took to the sky. Spreading her semi-translucent leathery wings, Asiyu slowed her descent in time to execute a full 360 degrees spin, flashing the row of ice spikes that ran all along her back and down to the tail.

Her white fangs bared as the blue gem embedded in her forehead glowed. Her eyes followed suit, changing from their calm blue color to a shimmering white of rage.

Water droplets, both big and small, splashed around the Ice Dragon, adding to the moment's display. Then, it was over as Asiyu dropped into the battle.

BAM!! Asiyu smashed down on the first pirate Dragon's head and used it as a spring board to jump to the next, slashing his face with her foot claws. She bounded to the other side of the circle, slicing one Dragon across his throat and cracking the jaws of another.

The last one turned to run, however Asiyu was faster and used Swift, sending out a series on star-shaped projectiles that shook the Aqua Dragon into submission.

Asiyu then landed in the water beside Alric and Umi, trapping water with her rear legs and dusting her webbed front claws off.

"Seems that you needed some help." Asiyu snarled with a toothy grin.

The two Lapras could only stare dumbfounded.

* * *

"The crystal's powers are neutralized." Erizar declared.

"Hey pretty good." Arist's blue shimmering form materialized, hovering beside Erizar's head. "Not the way I would really have fought, but that thing wasn't really me in a sense."

"But what now for you?" Riot turned her head towards his image.

"Me? I'm…" Arist's form then begun to change colors, becoming shrouded in a wave of golden light. "Hey…with the Ghost Crystal's power gone…I'm…my soul is finally free…"

"You can finally move on to the afterlife." Nala added in.

The golden light also flowed upwards and out through the newly created holes in the ceiling. Nala somehow got the feeling that those lights would be putting the remaining undead down and bringing some peace to this troubled region.

A bit of light dropped on her serpentine forehead too, and Nala felt a great sense of ease. Her own affliction from the zombie bite was disappearing as well.

"Thanks to you guys." Arist managed a grin. "But you'll have to beware. Some form of Kaiser is reviving again. It took us down, and I hope you'll have better luck."

"They can knock us down, but we won't stay down." Nala said to him. "But is there anything else you can tell us?"

"Nothing much more than Zian probably has. It happened so fast it was hard even for me…" Arist's voice was fading out as his ghostly form disappeared into the light. "This is farewell then…"

Erizar looked straight at Arist and bared her fangs. He responded by snarling and flapping his wings. After which, Arist was gone and the room fell into darkness once more. However, there was still some light streaming in through holes in the ceiling.

"What was that all about?" Riot queried.

"Remember we were enemies once before." Erizar replied. "And I suppose you can say that we became allies just now. It's my way of accepting him."

"You Dragons are weird." Nala sighed.

"Hey, quit talking that way when you're a part this Dragon." Erizar hissed.

For a while, all three of the hydra-like Dragon's heads burst out laughing.

"Let's get the heck out of this place." Riot piped up. "With all the shaking we did, it might start to come down on our heads."

"But how about your real body?" Nala asked with concern. "You know…."

"Grrr…" The Aerodactyl in Dragon form muttered unhappily.

"I might have a solution to that. There was a healing spring around this region during my time." Erizar suggested. "If it still exists, I'm positive I could find it."

"A healing spring?" Nala wondered.

"Just as the name suggests, dipping yourself in these waters has the effect of rejuvenating some wounds. It won't work any miracles, but because you're in my form now…it should be able to heal your real body as well."

"Erm, I'm confused." Riot moaned.

"Just stick with me." Erizar gave a cocky grin, spreading her wings. "I'll take you there."

"Not like we have much of a choice." Nala laughed. "Neither of us can get more than 2 feet away from your head."

And so the three-headed Dragon flew, partially smashing her way through the parts of the ceiling that still remained, creating a passageway to the surface for herself.

"I wonder what happened to Sciion?" Nala suddenly glanced down.

"I hope he's in hell." Riot snarled.

* * *

"Hey! What's going on there?!" Raguragi's voice came over the burst of static. "Hello?!"

Groaning, Sciion fumbled about in the pitch darkness of the room, feeling around for his radio.

"Hello!! Come in Sciion!!"

"Gurghh….not well…" The Sneasel called into the radio.

The room suddenly shook again, sending rocks crashing down. Sciion was too dazed to evade them, and screamed in pain as he was smacked around.

In panic, he stumbled and fell flat on his belly….just as a large piece slammed down on his back with a loud crunch.

Raguragi was shouting something over the radio that Sciion never heard. Particularly because the black cat was too preoccupied with a long, jagged piece of rock that seemed to fall from above in slow motion.

However, there was nothing he could do but look up and watch it drop precisely towards his head.

"AAAaaarrrggghhhhhh….."

And then, there was silence.

* * *

"This is a really beautiful place." Jade exclaimed.

The female Charizard, Diane, and himself were standing by the base of a huge waterfall, which ran down into a plunge pool and along a stream. The rocks around it were an odd, orange-like color.

Smiling, Diane gestured towards the waterfall to offer Jade a drink. Both did so, slurping down the sparkling, clear water to quench their thirsts.

"If you stay around here, you can see the geysers too." Diane added in.

"Gysers?" Jade wondered.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled and a spray of hot water shot out from beneath Jade's body. Jade emitted a roar of surprise and stumbled, landing in the stream with a loud splash.

Diane burst out laughing as Jade scrambled out, shaking his scales dry.

"Not funny…" Jade growled.

"Sorry, perhaps I should've warned you first." Diane was still giggling a little. "I hope you're not the kind of Charizard who's extremely paranoid of water right? You seem like the adventurous type to me."

"Well, I guess I consider myself that with my kind of nomadic lifestyle." Jade bragged.

_((Could you tell any worse of a lie?)) _Lombadra's voice privately barked.

"Yeah, thought so." Diane continued. "Us Charizards shouldn't let the fear of the water control us. Sure it's not exactly our strong point, but even our ancient ancestors didn't have the flames we do now to work with."

"Is that so?" Jade wondered.

"Hmmm…I wonder if that thing I hid when I was a kid is still here." Diane turned towards the waterfall. "Come on, I'll show you. But you'll have to take a quick dip beneath the water."

Diane stepped into the stream and waved.

"And don't worry, just a short time won't make your tail flame go out." With a splash, Diane disappeared beneath the surface.

Jade shrugged and followed suite, quite aware that even Firestorm could go underwater for a while, thanks to Kris' previous training.

Together, the pair swam quickly beneath the clear water and emerged into a secret cavern at the back of the waterfall.

There was still some light streaming in from outside, though the veil of falling water blocked out most of it. However, on a rock in the center of the cave was a large, greenish sword.

"Wow, it really is still here. Guess no one bothers about this place anymore." Diane took the sword in hand and showed it to Jade.

It was a large, flat blade, a sword bigger than the one Kris used. Jade estimated it to be the entire length of his human form's back, and guessed that he'd probably need both hands to wield it effectively.

Most of it was green, except for the handgrip, which was a dark black and hollow inside. He noticed too that instead of its blade being entirely solid, this weapon had a couple of semi-circular holes, as if someone had deliberately carved them out. That made the weapon a lot lighter than it actually looked.

"What is this?" Jade asked. "Never seen anything like it."

"It's called the Kiazahoushi, an ancient Charizard weapon." Diane explained. "It is said that before our ancestors learned to breath flames, this weapon was used to create them. Of course, it's an old myth, so I'm not really sure whether it's true."

Jade took the weapon in both claws and swung it about. He was surprised to find sparks emitting from the hollow points of the blade.

"That's how it was supposed to work." Diane gestured. "You swing this weapon and it bursts into flames. However, this one is old and long past its time. Hmmm….you seem to like it a lot."

"Well, I don't really play around with swords too much." Jade admitted, scratching his head.

"Why don't you keep it then? It's only going to gather dust lying around here."

"Really? Thanks!" Jade slashed the weapon about for a while more. An idea soon slipped into his head and Jade brought out Lombadra's orange-red colored Spirit Crystal.

_((Hey, what do you think you're doing?!))_ Lombadra demanded.

"Trying a little experiment." Jade whispered, slipping the crystal into the space at the handle.

The crystal clicked in and stuck there firmly, as if it were meant to fit nicely in. Both Charizards gasped as the old weapon glowed with a fiery aura for a few moments.

Jade then swung the weapon about, its blade bursting into flames as he whirled and thrust it around.

_((Hmmm…not bad at all. Certainly better being a sword than that crystal.)) _Lombadra seemed somewhat impressed. _((Haha…wait till the arrogant, metal-headed Steel Dragon sees me now. This sword is much bigger and better than his!!)) _

_Bother, I think I might have made it worse. _Jade thought.

"That's amazing!" Diane gasped, finally able to find her words. "I've never know this ancient weapon to work like this before!"

"Well, the Crystal did most of it…" Jade had just started talking when he heard a scraping sound. Someone was in the cavern….spying on the two.

"Who's there?!" Diane roared, snapping her head up. "Show yourself now!!"

Jade's eyes narrowed as he glanced around as well.

"Diane! Over there!!"


	18. Trials of the Valley

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Trials of the Valley**

By nightdragon0

"Rarrgghh!" Diane lunged towards the shadow with a ferocious growl.

"Careful Diane!" Jade warned. "It could be a…"

"Ow! Ow! Hey! Sis! It's just me!"

It was a young and familiar voice, one that in fact belonged to Diane's younger brother Dan. A brief struggle ensured and soon the older dragon had her Charmander brother by the scruff of the neck, lifting him up and whirling him around.

"I should've known…" Diane hissed. "You're the only other one who knows about this place. Now what are you doing here?"

"Well, Shugo had to leave to do something and I asked him to bring me down here." Dan replied. "And I was sure that you'd show your new boyfriend this place."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

Both Jade and Diane gave the Charmander angry glances.

"Erm…hehehe…" Dan chuckled nervously.

"I don't know what I'm more pissed off at." Diane muttered. "You sneaking in here and spying on us, or the fact that Shugo brought you down from the caves and just left you alone."

"Hey sis, I'm old enough to take care of myself. Haven't I told you already?"

"Dan, you know you're not supposed to leave the caves alone. And especially so in times like this."

"Relax a little Diane." Jade put a claw on her shoulder. "He's just a kid. Give him a little room, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess so." The female relaxed her shoulders and wings, which had tensed up during her fit of rage.

"See! See! You do like each other! You can even calm big sis down like that!" Dan piped in. "Sis and Jade, sitting in a tree. KISSI…"

"You!"

"Wargh!"

WHAM! Diane chucked her brother into the wall, leaving an impression of his body in it as the little lizard slid down to the floor, groaning with his eyes as a bunch of swirls.

"Will he be all right?" Jade asked.

"He's got a hard enough head." Diane dusted her claws off. "May as well put it to good use."

Nodding, Jade turned his head towards the waterfall and happened to spot a shadowy figure dashing past on the other side.

"Diane!" Jade waved a finger to his snout, gesturing for his companion to be quiet. "Look there!"

"Hmm…" Diane wondered as they crept forward to take a look.

Peeking over Diane's shoulder, Jade could make out a roughly humanoid shape…a Blaziken.

_It's that female soldier, Bashaamo! _Jade realized. _But what's she doing here? Wait…could their group be behind the trouble in the valley?_

Bashaamo was talking softly to someone, whom Jade made out to be a Charizard. However, he couldn't get a good look as the figure was standing out of his point of view.

"The device worked as expected, bringing up the storm." Bashaamo spoke as Jade strained to hear her words.

"Well then, it has been enough of a demonstration for me." The second voice replied, sounding much older. "We should proceed to…hmmm…someone comes. Quickly, we must not be spotted."

Even as the pair's footsteps faded away, Jade, Diane and Dan crouched down behind the waterfall and remained silent. Jade felt his dragon heart pounding within his chest.

Had the pair outside sensed their presence? Were they waiting for an ambush?

There came another flapping of wings as yet another Charizard landed.

"Shugo?" Diane whispered.

Shugo paused only long enough to sniff around the area, and then took off, following the direction Bashaamo had gone towards.

"Shugo!" Diane dove into the shallow stream and swam out of the hidden cavern. "Hey!"

"Whoa, not so loud." Jade emerged and placed a claw over her jaws. "I know you're concerned about Shugo, but what if those two weirdoes are still around?"

"He's definitely going after those two." Diane pushed Jade's claw away and climbed out of the water. "And knowing him, Shugo will walk straight into a trap without realizing it."

"Perhaps, but let's follow Shugo in secret for now." Jade suggested. "I have a hunch that he'll lead us right to our quarry."

"Yes, I agree." Diane nodded. "But that other Charizard there…he sounded almost like…"

"Sis! Sis! Can I come along?" Dan, being smaller in size, squeezed his way out through a hole in the wall and ran to Diane's side.

"No, it's too dangerous Dan."

"Sis, but I can help! Besides, you can't leave me alone here!"

"He's right I guess." Jade muttered.

"Oh fine." Diane turned around. "Get on my back Dan. But you have to promise that if something happens, you stay out of sight and kept completely silent, understood?"

Dan looked up at his sister for a while, then nodded.

* * *

"ROOOAARRR!"

The two pirate Dragons had barely enough time to glance towards the source before Asiyu literally dropped in on their heads. The Ice Dragon knocked the pair onto the shore, and emerged to battle them on land.

"Come on boys." Asiyu taunted, waving her claws. "Not afraid of a girl are you?"

"Humph!" Both pirates assumed fighting stances, nodding to each other.

_(I wish the Lapras were as confident as you.) _Hazuki muttered.

_(Don't worry.) _Gwyen replied. _(Alric's gone to get the reinforcements organized. He'll make it…trust him on that!) _

Asiyu couldn't really pay much attention to the 'chatter' in her mind as her opponents attacked. She blocked the first few claw attacks and flipped over their heads. One of the Dragons swung his tail and caught Asiyu's leg, sending her spinning in mid-air.

The Ice Dragon's face hit the ground, but she quickly crawled away on all fours, evading a stomping attack from the second pirate Dragon. Now it was Asiyu's turn to use her tail, whipping the stomach of the nearest Dragon and causing him to lurch over in pain. His comrade somersaulted over his shoulders and met with a springing charge from Asiyu that send him flying into a coconut tree.

The second Dragon recovered just in time to have Asiyu whack him in the chest, then grasp her front claws around his neck and lift him up.

"Ack! I surrender!" The pirate pleaded. "Please! Don't kill me!"

"That I'll promise, if you tell me where your leader is."

"I…"

"Grrr…I'm getting impatient." Asiyu released one hand and showed off her claws.

"He's…he's got this secret exit, a cave on the other side of this island!" The Aqua Dragon blurted out.

"Thank you." Asiyu grinned.

"WWWAAAAHHH!"

BOMP! The pirate smacked into the coconut tree and slid down, groaning.

"I said that I wouldn't kill him, but I never promised not to hurt him." Asiyu dusted her claws off.

_(You think that if we take out the leader, the pirates would scatter?) _Gwyen asked.

"That's my plan for now." Asiyu got down on all fours and sprinted across the sands.

Behind her, the first pirate Dragon to hit the coconut tree had managed to pull himself up. Moaning, he pushed his senseless comrade off him and shook his head to clear out the stars. That was when he heard a splitting sound and looked up to see a bunch of coconuts falling.

"Eep! This is gonna hurt…" The Aqua Dragon's eyes went wide.

WHAM!

_(Hey what was that?) _Hazuki wondered.

"Probably just the coconuts." Asiyu muttered. "But let's worry about getting to the leader first."

The task didn't turn out to be too difficult at all, for Asiyu picked up his scent trail and followed it through the trees and the wooden buildings. There was a cave up ahead and Asiyu spotted a single Dragon running towards it.

* * *

"They definitely went this way." Diane muttered, landing on the cliff edge.

"Hmm…" Jade glanced around.

The trio had lost sight of the suspicious characters, and was now standing around the center point of a tall mountain. This particular mountain was surrounded by much shrubbery and smaller mountains all around, making it a somewhat more 'isolated' place.

_Perfect if you've got something to hide. _Jade told himself.

"Hey, get down!" Diane pulled Jade's arm and dragged him to cover of a cluster of boulders. A shadow soon flew overhead, recognizable to be Shugo.

As Diane watched, her cousin landed on a ledge above their position and begun feeling around the rocks there. One piece shifted and the wall opened, revealing a hidden passage. Shugo peered cautiously inside, and then lifted his foot to step through.

"Stay here." Diane ordered, setting Dan down behind the boulders.

"But sis…"

"No buts." Diane silenced him with a finger before spreading her wings and flying up to her cousin. "Shugo!"

"Diane, what are you doing here?" Shugo demanded as Jade approached. "And why is he here too?"

"I'm the one who's supposed to be asking what you are doing here." Diane snapped.

"Hey you two, this isn't the time for…" Jade began.

The platform beneath their feet suddenly shifted and tilted itself, sending the three Charizard lurching forward into the darkness. Inside the hidden door was a sloping tunnel that the screaming trio rolled down into.

"Oh no!" Dan saw his elders' mishap and begun to climb up to the platform.

"Oooff! Arrgh!" Jade, Diane and Shugo all landed in a heap at the bottom of a dimly lit cavern.

"Hey, what was that all…" Shugo started, pulling himself out of the pile.

"Before you start blaming anyone, the platform did that on its own." Diane gave her cousin a hard whack on the back of his head.

Leaving the pair busy berating each other, Jade examined the cavern around them. The tunnel they'd ungracefully entered by had closed up, and there was no natural lighting in the cave itself. However, rows of candles on stands provided enough illumination, though it also left many corners of the cave in the dark.

"This seems like a place that I'd put things I would want to hide." Jade said to himself. "Now, just where in this cave would I put them?"

_(I'm sensing some strong emotions.) _Lombadra's voice spoke up. _(Can't really pinpoint what it is, but it's close by.) _

Jade acted on the Legendary Dragon's tip and scanned the surrounding area again. This time, he was drawn towards an odd-looking section on the wall and was reaching out for it when a burst of flames flew right into his face.

"Gargh! Rargh!" Jade almost forgot that he was a Charizard himself and roared as he shook the flames off. Once his vision cleared, Jade found himself facing a couple of Slugma and a Marcargo.

"Hey what are you doing here?" Diane demanded, Shugo and herself rushing over at the sound of Jade's cries.

"You won't get past us." The Marcargo hissed. "The Master commands it!"

The lava monster slammed the ground hard, causing rocks to fall from the ceiling and strike the Charizard trio.

"Grrr! This is not an idea situation to fight in!" Shugo cursed. "It's too cramped!"

"Well improvise!" Jade raised his head and fired off a Flamethrower.

The Marcargo withdrew inside his shell as the flames harmlessly bounced off. His two Slugma companions then returned fire, giving Jade another two flaming bursts to his chest.

While Jade staggered from the shock, Shugo leapt into the fray and caught one of the Slugma with a Wing Attack. Diane shot off a glowing ball from her jaws, the Dragon Rage, only to have the second Slugma use Double Team.

Her opponent split into multiple illusionary copies and the Dragon Rage exploded off-target. Diane snarled as she eyed the Slugma copies, until the real one struck her and knocked the female over.

Jade was still nursing his injured chest when he saw the Marcargo rearing up for a surprise attack.

"Overheat!" The Marcargo let loose with a terrific wave of flames.

"No you don't!" Jade sprang forward and swung the Kiazahoushi, the ancient weapon that contained Lombadra's spirit.

A crescent energy wave emitted from the blade, slamming into the flames and knocking them back into the Marcargo's group. The result was a deafening explosion that knocked the enemy party across the cave. Jade eyed their bodies cautiously until he was sure that they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"Perhaps you're not so bad after all." Shugo put a claw on Jade's shoulder.

"Thanks." Jade smiled. "Now, let's see what they were guarding."

* * *

"Ice Beam!" Asiyu opened her jaws and fired, blowing out the cave's entrance and collapsing it to block the leader's path.

"Wha…grrr…you…" The leader adjusted his bandana and gave her a cold stare. "You're the one behind all this? But you're a Dragon too!"

"I'm not just any Dragon you know." Asiyu hissed. "These Lapras are under my protection! And you've tormented them for long enough."

"So be it then." The leader snarled. "Let's do this!"

Both Dragons roared and fired their Hydro Pumps at each other. As the water splashed about, the pair charged. They became blurs of motion as the two sprang about, their claws clashing and clanging into the night.

Asiyu had just landed and turned to face the leader when the pirate smirked and pulled a hidden piece of rope beneath his feet. A soft click was followed by a sharp pricking sensation as a series of darts pierced Asiyu's hide.

"Arrgh! Gargghh!" Asiyu felt pain coursing through her entire body and was soon hit directly by a Dragon Rage breath attack. The Ice Dragon was sent careening down a cliff and sprawled out on the beach, face-down. "Guughhh…I…I…can't move!"

"Those poison tipped darts weren't just there to distract you." The leader strode down the beach and arrogantly flipped her over. "Well, I am an evil pirate leader. You didn't expect me to play fair, now did you?"

"Grr…damn…you…" Asiyu managed.

"But this battle is over!" The leader raised his claws.

"Oh no you don't!" Alric's voice declared.

"Huh? What!" The pirate leader looked up and his jaw dropped in utter shock.

Lining the shoreline was an entire squadron of Lapras, all giving him angry gazes. And the Aqua Dragon was literally backed against the wall of a cliff.

_(Nice timing Alric!) _Hazuki cheered.

"Now! Everyone!" Alric ordered.

The group of Lapras fired their Ice Beams together, freezing the howling pirate Dragon within a huge block of ice. Alric then pulled himself up onto the beach.

"Are you all right Asiyu?"

"I'll be fine." Asiyu grunted. "How are your people?"

"I think that we've won!" Alric laughed happily. "The last of the pirate Dragons are scattering as we speak!"

"That's good." Asiyu closed her eyes. "Then let me rest for a while."

"Thank you." Alric bowed his head. "For leading us. We never could've done it without you."

_(Nah, all you guys needed was a little inspiration.)_ Gwyen spoke up. _(And that's what Asiyu gave you.)_

_(Really, she's right about that.) _Hazuki added in.

Smiling warmly, Alric called for a couple of Lapras to look after Asiyu as he went off to direct his people.

_(I think that their problems are pretty much wrapped up, eh?) _Gwyen remarked.

_(Yes, it was a job well done.) _Hazuki agreed. _(But what now? We've got to be getting back to the mainland right? The other will definitely be worried about us.)_

_(Well Alric offered to give us a ride on day one remember? And I'm sure after all this that he'll keep his word. Isn't that right Asiyu? Asiyu?)_

The Ice Dragon didn't answer, but instead closed her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Jade groped around the strange-looking section of the wall until he felt a door and pulled it open. That revealed a storage compartment which left all three gasping at its contents. Inside were several shelves lined with small stone ornaments designed in the shapes of Charizards in various poses.

"What are these?" Shugo muttered, bending over to take a closer look.

"Shugo…" A soft voice rasped.

"Huh? Who?" Shugo started.

"Here…stone…" The voice was struggling to speak. "Help…"

"It that Justin?" Diane asked. "He went missing just three days ago."

Shugo's eyes turned down to the stone Charizards in shock.

"Justin! Is that you down there?" He gasped.

"Trap…he's…he's…"

"RRRAAAGGHH!" Shugo was suddenly knocked to the side. The Charizard landed on his back and was horrified to find a think gray liquid all over his chest and upper body. The strange substance was not only spreading over his body, but coagulating and making it difficult to move.

"You should've minded your own business Shugo." A much older Charizard stepped out of the shadows, holding a device that seemed much like a rocket launcher. Another distinctive feature of the attacker was the brownish crystal that he wore on a chain around his neck.

"Master Tsung!" Shugo practically screamed. "Were you…the one behind those missing Charizard?"

"It should be obvious by now." Tsung growled. "Only now you and your friends know too much for their own good."

"Why? Dammit why?"

"I've been offered far greater power that you can ever imagine! And all for getting rid of my own competition…the other Elders. Without them around, the seat of leadership of this valley will belong to I and I alone!"

Laughing, the Blaziken known as Bashaamo also stepped into view, with her arms folded. Jade tensed at the sight of the bird-lady as she shot him a cold stare.

"Interesting isn't it? It's a substance that has both a shrinking and a petrifying effect." She explained. "Of course, it was never meant to be used in such large dozes, but I suppose that Raguragi has his methods."

"Making a deal with Kaiser's troops?" Jade muttered. "Bad choice indeed."

"I…I was a fool." Shugo managed. "But….I will not be that fool again! RRAAAGGHH!!"

Forcing his half petrified body up, Shugo charged and rammed into Elder Tsung, pinning the older dragon down.

"Shugo!" Diane cried.

"Get out of here!" Shugo ordered. "Now!"

Bashaamo was about to lunge when Diane sprayed off a cloud of thick gas from her jaws, the Smokescreen ability. Jade fired off a random Flamethrower shot and grabbed Diane's arm.

"Come on! Let's go!" Jade urged.

The pair backtracked their way through the cave and was abruptly halted when a burst of flames knocked the ceiling down in front of them. Immediately after, Diane was taken down by a shot from the same grayish liquid.

"You should just surrender and submit to your fate." Tsung approached, holding a small figurine in his palm that had once been Shugo.

With a roar, Bashaamo somersaulted over a stunned Jade's head. The human-turned-Charizard tried to defend himself with his sword, but only ended up having it knocked out of his arms by a swift kick. Clutching his hands in pain, Jade roared and shot out a burst of flames.

Bashaamo quickly rolled under the hastily executed attack. She moved in before Jade had time to react and begun plummeting the young Charizard with Blaze Kicks. Jade simply didn't have the skill or experience to defend himself, and could only howl in pain as he hit the ground.

_(Jade! Hey! They're coming!) _Lombadra's voice seemed all fuzzy and blurred. _(They'll get you with the…)_

It was the last thing he heard before the gray liquid was spread over his body as well.

* * *

Crouched behind a boulder, a terrified Dan could only watch as the strange Blaziken and Elder Tsung collected the now tiny stone figurines of Jade, Diane and Shugo.

He really wanted to be brave. He wanted to do something. However, the Charmander was trembling with fear and just couldn't bring himself to move.

_(Hey kid, listen to me. Keep quiet and don't let them see you.) _

Dan jumped, sure that he had heard some voice speaking to him.

_(Yeah, I'm the talking sword lying over there, see?) _

The Charmander's glance fell upon Jade's dropped weapon as he realized that it was the sword talking to him.

_(Look kid, can I trust you with something? You have to get me out of here!)_

Dan hesitated for a moment, then bit his lip and nodded. Creeping out from behind the rock, Dan got his claws around the sword's hilt and lifted it onto his shoulder.

_(Good job kid, I promise that I'll find some way to save you sister and the others. But now, we've got to get out of here. Understand?) _

"Uh, yeah." Dan whispered.

By this time, Bashaamo had turned around to search for Jade's dropped weapon. It puzzled her that the weapon was suddenly nowhere in sight and that soon turned into anger as she called for the Slugma troop to search for it.

What all of them walked right by was a hole at ground level that the much smaller Dan had scrambled into. Lit only by the flame on his tail, the Charmander hoped that it would lead him somewhere outside.

* * *

_Got to…keep this…up!_

Kris ducked the next of the Hariyama's Arm Thrusts and rammed her shoulder into his chest. The fighting Pokemon staggered, but turned and hit her with the side of his body. Kris lost her balance and was promptly hit beneath the chin.

She dropped backwards, but managed to break her fall by executing a backwards roll.

_Grrr…_

Her vision was spinning even as the Hariyama charged, feeling that he now had the upper hand. Kris waited until the last moment, then slipped between his legs. While her opponent stopped short in panic, Kris kicked his feet out from under him.

The Hariyama hit the ground with a loud thud and Kris painstakingly pulled herself to her feet, finally becoming aware of her surroundings.

The featureless black walls, spotlights on the roof and the viewing stations all around were giving her a sense of déjà vu. Not so much because of the amount of time she'd spent enclosed within those walls, but because of her past experiences.

Yes, there'd been a time in the past when she would've been the one up there, watching the battle through those glass windows. As a former member of Team Rocket, Kris knew these underground battles played on high stakes.

And she'd paid a second visit to the underground, with a new identity after having been turned into a Scyther. Now, Kris was here again…fighting for her life.

The Saber Dragon, Klinge, had spent the last few days putting her under harsh training. Kris had found herself lying literally half-dead on the ground more times than she could count.

_Is this fate's punishment for me? _She asked herself. _To suffer the torment I once put others through?_

BAM! A full forced blow caught Kris at the side of her head, sending her spinning to the ground. No doubt that Klinge would be up there screaming for her to get up, Kris still did so on her own.

Giving a low snarl, Kris held forward her marked Scizor pincers. It was a move that made a Scizor look like it had three heads, mostly meaning to intimidate. Her opponent took the bait and attacked, not wanting to be outdone.

As the Hariyama's huge fist came forward, Kris moved inwards. In that awkward moment, she was inside her opponent's center of balance, standing right in front of his face. The fighting Pokemon had a look of surprise in his eyes as Kris rammed a pincer into his face.

Kris stopped there, panting, as her opponent dropped backwards and lay still…joining the limp forms of the other Pokemon lying around the arena. The battle royal was over…and Kris was the last one standing.

_Finally…I thought that was…garrrgghh! _

A Seviper that had been lying nearby suddenly sprang up and wrapped its coils around Kris' body. Howling, Kris struggled as the serpent forced her to the ground.

The snake was hissing, showing off his forked tongue and fangs as his head blobbed about. Her Steel element made her immune to its venom, but Kris suspected that it was trying to get her neck where it was less protected.

Kris kept her head down as she eyed the Seviper whilst trying desperately to catch a breath. The Seviper kept moving his head in the opposite direction that Kris moved hers in, trying to target her neck. Kris was quickly running out of breath finally took a chance, swinging her head to one side.

It forced the snake to stretch all the way to attack her vulnerable spot, and Kris used the moment to spread her wings. The unexpected shock caused the snake to loosen his grip, and that was all Kris needed to get a hand out. She sliced the razor sharp pincer against the Seviper's body, causing him to screech in pain.

Kris then proceeded to pull him off and slam him to the ground, arousing a huge applause from the crowd of spectators above. The snake was hissing pitifully beneath Kris' foot as the shouts of 'finish him' roared from above.

There was no other choice and Kris closed her eyes as she pressed her foot down hard and twisted, breaking the creature's neck and killing him instantly.

Amongst the shouting from the crowd, Kris stumbled towards the newly opened exit. She was on the verge of collapse as it was, but she held onto her pride as much as her consciousness and made it into the dark corridor, out of view of the spectators.

"You've done well." Klinge was already standing there. "Far better than my expectations."

Kris couldn't care less and dropped to the ground. Klinge was probably going to whip her or start giving out more shocks on her collar, but she just didn't care at this point.

Already, she barely felt the pain as she drifted off into the strangely calm and endless darkness.

* * *

Hidden in the midst of the shadows, Bashaamo leaned close against the wall. She pulled a thick black cloak over her body, in order to hide her flames, and listened.

Just beyond the blue stone walls was a meeting room where Juncan and Raguragi stood talking.

"Sacrifice the girl?" Juncan was asking. "It seems like such a waste."

"Now that those otherworld fools know we need her alive until then, we won't be able to threaten them with her as a hostage." Raguragi muttered. "And there's no doubt that they'll try to find her. That leaves more problems for us to worry about."

"Come on, what are the chances that they'll find this place?"

"Don't be too sure. As much as I hate to admit it, they are quite capable indeed." Raguragi rubbed his chin. "I heard that a couple of them foiled your plans at finding that spring of yours."

"Oh shut up." Juncan snapped. "I'll be getting back to that one soon enough, right after I get those extra funds you wanted me to."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"Rob a bank of course." Juncan laughed. "But this will be a big one! And as such, it's taking time to plan out."

"Just as long as it works out." Raguragi nodded. "By the way, I saw Bashaamo around here. Wasn't she supposed to be at that Charizard valley working with our new client?"

"She needed to get some supplies." Juncan replied. "Why? Something up with our mercenary?"

"No, it's just…ah forget it."

"Hmmm…" Bashaamo decided she had heard enough and crept away, pondering about the future.

* * *

Nightslice started, springing up and nearly falling out of his tree. The steel elemental bug though he'd heard a voice, Kris' voice screaming in pain, but shook it off as part of his imagination.

After the Latias and Latios twins had probed the old teleporter, they'd managed to utilize the traces of energy left behind when Bahamut and Lombadra teleported Kris and Jade out. It was a fairly straightforward theory of partner following partner to the appropriate destination.

The area he was spending the night in was a forest, and according to Zian, one that was just outside Saffron City. Kris was supposedly around there, but all of Zian's attempts to contact her had failed and Nightslice feared the worst.

Perhaps his 'imagination' was more of a sign that something had happened to Kris. The strange energies that had remained after their previous adventures had left Kris and Nightslice connected in a way that neither would never fully understand.

"What are we gonna do bro?"

Nightslice jumped at the voice and mentally slapped himself for getting lost in his thoughts. The Scizor jumped down and hid amongst the bushes as two odd figures walked into view. They were definitely not any kind of Pokemon, but neither were they the Dragons that lived in the Eastern regions.

One was some sort of a gigantic bull that stood upright, with a pair of five-fingered hands and a bull head. He was clad in some light green robes and had a large axe strapped by his side. It resembled a mythical animal known as a Minotaur.

The second was some sort of a bird that also stood upright like a human. However, he had a bird face and beak, with wings instead of hands. He wore a blue vest over the brownish feathers on his chest. The bird was also shorter, standing up to his companion's chest level.

"I really don't know." The bird shook his head as he replied. "The bug creature Klinge has is so blasted strong. It's got an exoskeleton like steel and a fire in its eyes. I saw it thrash a whole bunch of the other fighters earlier."

"Yeah, and we're pretty much up to our necks in debt thanks to that thing." The Minotaur growled. "If we don't find something that can beat it, we won't even have our necks for much longer. You know how those Dragons at the Underground Arena work!"

"We never should've gotten involved."

"No kidding. But it's not like some skilled Pokemon is gonna jump out here in front of our faces."

_Kris? Is that Kris they were talking about?_ Nightslice wondered, having heard the entire conversation. _An Underground Arena? I have a really bad feeling. Perhaps that's where all those voices I keep hearing are coming from. Hmmm…_

Making his decision, Nightslice somersaulted out in front of the duo with a ferocious snarl.


	19. Sign of Courage

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Sign of Courage**

By nightdragon0

"What the?" The birdman barely got the words out of his beak before Nightslice sent a summersault kick into his face.

The Scizor landed neatly on his feet and looked up to face the much larger Minotaur, who had drawn a great axe he had by his side. Growling, the bull swung the axe in an X-pattern, with Nightslice shifting his body left and right. The deadly blade missed him by inches on either side.

As his opponent altered the swing of his axe, Nightslice blocked with both his steel-hard pincers, slamming them into the Minotaur's wrist. The bull cried out in pain as Nightslice kicked his shin before leaping up and driving an uppercut into his chin.

_This one's too big for me. _Nightslice thought as the Minotaur stumbled. _That bird fellow's more of my size, but just got to get a hold of him… _

"Hargh!" The bird had gotten to his feet by this time and pointed both his wings forward. A spray of feathers hit the ground as Nightslice rolled away.

He noted that the feathers not only sliced through the grass, but stuck firmly in the ground and stayed there. They were some kind of natural weapon this birdman possessed.

Nightslice was caught getting up and crossed his arms, utilizing Iron Defense, a move that had him glowing with a white light as the feather darts bounced off his armored body.

_And now, Agility! _Nightslice told himself, pushing off the ground and charging in-between his foe's next set of feather darts.

He was rapidly closing the distance between the two when the bird took to the sky, leaving Nightslice to clumsily slash through air. Cursing, Nightslice spun round and jumped up after him, spreading out his hidden wings at the same time.

His wings' metallic click apparently startled the bird enough for Nightslice to slam his head with his Metal Claw attack, knocking the bird out of the sky. Using his wings to guide his fall, Nightslice grabbed the bird in mid-air and landed on the ground, holding his foe in a chokehold from behind.

The Scizor kept on arm around the bird's neck, with the other hand held in front of his terrified opponent's face, displaying the sharp edge of the pincer. The Minotaur was recovering and gripping his axe tightly, but it didn't do him much good.

"You'd better not move or I'll have to do something unfortunate to your friend here." Nightslice snarled in a threatening voice.

"Gararrk! Help!" The birdman choked as Nightslice tightened his grip.

"What do you want?" The Minotaur demanded, holding his axe out.

"Just to talk a little." Nightslice told him. "Not too much to ask, is it?"

"All right! I surrender!" The Minotaur placed his axe on the ground. "Just don't hurt Tsubasa!"

"Gao…" The birdman, Tsubasa, whispered.

"Good." Nightslice nodded. "Now, I overheard your conversation earlier. Tell me, this bug creature you were talking about, did it look just like me?"

"Yeah, definitely." Gao replied. "But I don't know if it talks like…"

"Like me? Oh, I know she does. See, she's a close acquaintance of mine." Nightslice could practically feel this it was Kris now.

"A friend of yours? But I know all those Pokemon within the arena are slaves bound to fight as gladiators."

"I expected as much. And I need to get her out." Nightslice smirked. "That's where you two come in."

* * *

_This place…_Storm thought as he glanced around. _It looks so much like the one back in my original world. _

The Charizard was flying through the canyon, winding between the jaggered edges of the cliffs. It was actually the same rocky valley that Jade had passed through several days earlier.

However the clear skies soon clouded into a dark and stormy downpour. From out of nowhere, thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the horizon. Firestorm cursed as the rain pelted his face and body.

Even while squinting, he noticed something along the mountainside. A faint, reddish glow…of flames.

_Somebody's there. _Firestorm thought. _Wait, that's a…_

As he moved in closer, Storm realized it was a tiny Charmander, balanced precariously on the narrow ledge. The smaller lizard seemed to be struggling in the rain, both with keeping his balance and with the object he was carrying.

"Hey kid!" Storm shouted.

The Charmander looked up, panicked and lost his grip. Firestorm instinctively dove down as the Charmander fell, catching the younger lizard on his right and the glittering object in his left. Terrified, the Charmander sank his fangs into Storm's shoulder.

Gritting his teeth furiously, Firestorm arched his way towards a sheltered section and landed. The Charmander was still firmly latched onto him and Storm stroked the back of his head calmly.

"Hey kid, I'm not going to hurt you. We're safe now."

Slowly, the child relaxed and released his grip. He looked up into Storm's face with mixed emotions of fear and relief.

_(About time you showed up. I was wondering how long I'd be stuck with that idiotic human partner of yours.) _

The 'voice' caused both dragons to jump.

"Lombadra?" Firestorm gasped. "You…where are you?"

_(You've only been holding me in your claw for the past 2 minutes.) _The ancient dragon snapped.

Storm mentally slapped himself and raised the sword he'd been holding in his left hand all the while. He wasn't a fan of using weapons, but even he had to admit that it was a fine-looking sword.

"So, Jade finally found a place to put your crystal into?" Firestorm asked.

_(I suppose I do owe him that.) _Lombadra replied. _(But we've got other things to worry about right now. Kaiser's troops are still coming after us.)_

"Grrr…damn, they're even here." Firestorm snarled.

"Erm, you two know each other?" The Charmander cut in.

_(Don't worry kid, he's a friend.) _Lombadra's voice sounded. _(Jade and his sister were captured just now, but he managed to escape and get me out of there.) _

"Really?" Storm put the Charmander down. "That's pretty brave of you…"

"Dan."

"Well Dan, I…"

Several roars sounded in the area, causing both to snap up.

"Oh no! They must still be following me!" Dan cried.

"Who?" Firestorm turned towards the sky as a couple of Charizard flew into view, rapidly approaching their position.

"Get away from the child stranger!" One of them demanded. "The valley Elder has ordered that he be eliminated immediately!"

"Elder Tsung is working with those bad people!" Dan shouted. "You guys can't see that?"

"Silence child! These affairs are not yours to meddle with." The second Charizard growled.

"Hey, you two." Firestorm stepped in front of Dan. "Your Elder would order you to kill a child? Not much of a good leader I'd think."

"Keep out of this foreigner, or you'll regret it!"

"Too bad, I've already made this my business!" Firestorm roared. "Want the kid? You'll have to get through me first!"

"You've asked for it then!" The two Charizard combined their Flamethrower attacks into a super-heated burst that was fired on Storm's position, stirring up a huge cloud of smoke and dust.

But when the view cleared, Firestorm was still standing firmly, twirling the Kiazahoushi weapon which held Lombadra's spirit around.

"Now that's handy." Firestorm smiled. "Seems you've picked up a few tricks Lombadra."

_(Shut up and get down to business!) _

"You don't have to tell me twice! RRROOOAAARRRRR!"

* * *

"What do you mean?"

"I need to get into the arena in order to rescue my friend. And it seems you need a fighter to win a few matches and clear out your debts. So I'm proposing we form an alliance here." The Scizor suggested. "I'll fight for you two, but in return you have to watch my back while I investigate the arena."

"But that'll be difficult." Gao protested. "All the Pokemon used in the arena battles are kept under lock and key."

"Then you'd better find a way to compromise."

"I don't know if…if I can…"

_Hmm, I don't have time for them to be difficult. Time for plan B. _

"Fine." Nightslice turned his attention towards his hostage and snapped his pincers. "You afraid of these things, bird?"

"Hey, I'm a Garuda you know?" Tsubasa protested.

"Have it your way then, Garuda." Nightslice sneered, bring his pincer forward.

"What…what are you doing? No! No! Please!" Tsubasa wore a mask of terror as Nightslice dragged the sharp side of his pincer partway across the base of the Garuda's neck. It was a small cut that revealed a bit of the birdman's red blood.

Nightslice then let go and shoved Tsubasa into his companion.

"What did you do?" Tsubasa yelled, wiping the blood with his wing.

"One thing you probably didn't know about us Scizors." Nightslice stared him in the eye. "Is that our pincers here, are tipped with a deadly and lethal poison."

"Le…lethal?" Tsubasa's eyes went wide.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll have about 36 hours warning first." Nightslice folded his arms. "More than enough time to feel all the pain and agony before you die."

"It…it can't be! You're…you're bluffing! You must be!"

"Self denial won't help anything. But I suppose if you want to test it out, by all means." Nightslice huffed, turning his back. "You'll slowly lose voluntary control of your limbs and muscles, then lose the ability to move then at all. And by that time, the pain creeping in through your internals will be way too much to bear. So much that you'll want to do nothing but scream."

Tsubasa was visibly beginning to tremble.

"However, you won't be able to because your mouth will no longer move. You'll be struggling just to breathe as your senses die out. Sight, smell, hearing….everything. And…"

"No…no…" The Garuda was suddenly on his knees. "You have an antidote, don't you?"

"Of course, I can easily detoxify the venom. Provided you help me that is." Nightslice gestured to himself. "My offer still stands."

"And how do we know that you'll keep your promise?" Gao cut in.

"I can only give you my word, upon my honor as a warrior." Nightslice replied. "And I know you two can only give them same thing when it comes to terms of trust."

"Ok, I'll do it! Anything!" Tsubasa turned towards his friend. "You're in too right?"

"Of course." Gao nodded. "I won't leave you hanging bro."

_They seem like good enough folk. _Nightslice thought. _Man, I hate to pull such a nasty trick on them, but desperate times call for desperate measures. _

* * *

Sticking the sword into the stony ground, Storm kicked off the ledge and took to the sky. The two Charizard guards separated as Storm dashed between them, making a 360 degrees turn and charging back. One of them sent off several short bursts of flames, which Firestorm dodged before slamming the dragon in the stomach.

Even as the first guard went spinning, the second attacked, being close enough to slash with his claws. Storm retaliated with his own claws, knocking his opponent's swipes away before flying up. The enemy Charizard gave chase, shooting off bursts of flames from behind.

Firestorm dodged several of them, then abruptly stopped and allowed himself to drop. As a result, his opponent whizzed past him, giving Storm a clear shot at his back. And he made full use of that opportunity, sending a Fire Blast attack straight into his foe's body.

The Charizard guard screamed and went spinning out of control.

By this time, the first attacker had recovered and pounced on Storm from behind. Storm struggled desperately as his foe bit into his shoulder. He reached back and grabbed his opponent's head, feeling his own blood tricking down his arms.

Fighting both the winds and his foe, Firestorm swung back and forth in the air, finally managing to find the canyon's wall. He shoved back and slammed his opponent against the jaggered wall with a splitting crunch. Still, his enemy held tight, forcing Firestorm to bang his head again and again, until their section of the wall was covered with blood.

BAM! With a final burst of energy, Firestorm broke free and cracked the other Charizard's neck against the stone surface. The lifeless body dropped down into the raging river below.

Enraged, the remaining Charizard guard charged in a berserker rage. Storm was taken by surprise at the ferocity of the attack, being pounded against the bloodstained wall more than once. In desperation, Firestorm stabbed his claws into the other Charizard's body, causing him to howl in pain.

Weakened, Firestorm kicked his opponent away and dropped back towards the ledge where he'd left Dan and the sword. His opponent flipped around and came straight back towards him.

_Got to…make this work! _Firestorm moved into a spinning maneuver and turned his back to his foe, taking hold of the sword. The other Charizard was almost upon him when Firestorm turned and swung the blade.

In a spray of blood, his foe's chest was sliced open. With a gurgled cry, the Charizard guard hurled into the wall and slid off, dropping down into the depths of the river as well.

Panting, Firestorm dragged himself onto the ledge and flopped down.

_(That was a good show.) _Lombadra remarked.

"It doesn't feel like a victory…it's far too empty." Firestorm muttered, looking down at his bloodstained claws.

_(What's wrong?) _

"They weren't the enemy." Firestorm muttered. "I could feel it from them. They were just trying to defend their homeland. But they were deceived, and now…I've killed them…"

"You're not a bad person." Dan walked over and wiped Firestorm's face. "Even I can feel that."

_(Yeah, you already know who your enemy is. And it's the people like them, people like your friends that you're fighting for. So pick yourself up, or are you getting soft on me?) _

"Humph, you can't keep a good dragon down for long." Firestorm pulled himself up. "So, guys, better fill me in on the entire situation here…"

* * *

"So, how was I?" Nightslice asked, glancing down at the screen.

"Raking up all the wins." Gao gestured towards the screen on a laptop, which was flicking between images of Nightslice's various battles in the arena. "I don't know how you learnt to fight like that, but you're good. Really good."

"Well, I learnt from the best." Nightslice smirked.

_From Kris that is…_

Amongst the screens was a scene of Nightslice ducking beneath a Salamence's sweeping claw strike to slash it in the back and another of himself spraying an odd looking psychic-type Claydol with Pin Missiles from his mouth.

The two turned at the creaking of the door to see Tsubasa entering the dimly lit storeroom. With the tip of his wing, the Garuda clicked the lock shut.

"Did we have to choose a storeroom to hide out in?" He muttered.

"Well, it was the only place I could think of, given the time limitations." Gao scratched his head.

"Anyway, here." Tsubasa tossed a small leather pouch onto the table. "Our winnings, thanks to Nightslice over here. Definitely enough to get us out of debt."

"I got that much already?" Nightslice whistled as Gao counted the money.

"After your first win, I just kept betting on everything we had." Tsubasa explained. "So each round, the amount essentially doubled."

"Hm, I've kept my promise then." Nightslice turned back towards Gao. "You found out anything about my friend?"

"Yeah, she'll be in the next match as well. Klinge, the Saber Dragon she's fighting under, will be at the grandstand." Gao looked up. "I guessed that he'd enter this tournament, that's why we entered you as well."

"Grrr…he's the first one I'll be taking out."

"Don't get too hasty. I don't think you can fight an entire army by yourself."

"This final match is a rumble-style battle." Tsubasa added in. "It means that you're in the arena with who knows how many other fighters and duke it out till only one remains standing."

"That image." Nightslice pointed towards a screen of Klinge, with Kris, in her Scizor form, standing by his side. "What's that around her neck?"

"They're shock collars." Tsubasa replied. "Most of the masters around here use them to discipline their fighters. But try to pull them off and BAM! They practically kill you by electrocution."

"Hmm…if Klinge starts shocking her, it'll be hard for me to do anything about it."

"Perhaps I can modify this one here." Gao held up a similar collar. "If I can wire this thing to react to the other collars, anyone's collar within several feet of your position will be deactivated."

"Then I could get hers off?"

"Provided this works that is." Gao muttered, fumbling with a screwdriver.

"Better hurry bro." Tsubasa spoke up. "Hear those bells? The final match will be starting soon…"

* * *

"So this is the place?" Firestorm pointed.

"Yeah, I saw them standing here." Dan nodded. "Then this platform opened and they fell in."

"It doesn't seem to be opening now though." Storm muttered. "Even then, I don't know if it's wise to go in through the front door…hmm?"

Firestorm pulled Dan by the scruff of his neck and dragged him behind a pile of boulders. His keen sense of hearing was rewarded by the entrance of Bashaamo, who was leaping up the mountainside, using the ledges for support. She stopped by the ledge the two had been on earlier and begun feeling around the rocky surface.

In a flash, Firestorm leapt out and grabbed the Blaziken from behind, holding his sword against her throat.

"Should've expected that you'd be here." Firestorm growled.

"Humph, I'll give you credit for catching me off guard." Bashaamo replied calmly.

"Open the door." Firestorm tightened his grip. "Or else…"

Snarling, Bashaamo pushed a section of the wall, which slid inwards and revealed an opening in the mountainside. Firestorm spread his wings and descended the winding tunnel.

Bashaamo said nothing as they emerged into the cavern, lit only by the rows of candles on either side. All of a sudden, Bashaamo stamped on Storm's foot, causing him to let go and cry out in pain. The swift Blaziken then disappeared into the shadows.

_(She got you on that one buddy.) _Lombadra muttered unhappily.

"And I think we're about to have company! Rargh!" Firestorm rolled to avoid a Marcargo's Flamethrower and returned the blast with one of his own.

Dan landed with a thump after sliding down the tunnel. He saw Firestorm charging into the midst of the Slugma troop, bashing them left and right with his powerful tail. Fear took hold of the young lizard again as Dan crouched behind a boulder and closed his eyes.

_(Hey kid…) _It was Lombadra's voice. _(Find the stone figure Jade was turned into and get it to Firestorm. You have to trust me on this one!) _

"But I…"

_(I know you're afraid. You're still young. But you wanted to prove that you'll turn out as a great warrior someday, didn't you?)_

"Yeah, I know." Dan nodded.

_(Then now's the time to take hold of the courage! Go for it kid!) _

"Um!"

The Charmander held his breath and sprang out from his hiding place. Running along the sides of the cavern, Dan was small enough to go unnoticed in the midst of the battle. He did, however, stop and hide as several huge shadows appeared.

Dan recognized Elder Tsung and Bashaamo from before. But now they were being accompanied by a gigantic creature he could only describe as a golem made entirely of rock with a featureless face…. Regirock.

"Man Firestorm already has his claws full and they're still coming?" Dan whispered. "I've got to hurry!"

Making sure the bad guys were gone, Dan resumed his dash and stopped by concealed cupboard. It was fortunate that someone had left it partially open, or he wouldn't have noticed it. And inside it were all the small, stone Charizard figures. Several of them were giving off muffled squeaks as Dan scanned through them.

As much as he wanted to save all of them, Dan knew he wouldn't be able to carry them.

_Come on! Which one is he? _

Dan then spotted the stone figure of his sister and snatched it up.

"Dan…" Diane's voice was soft and weak, making Dan hold the figurine up to his ear to hear her.

"Sis, you have to tell me which one is Jade! It's really important!"

"Bottom…left…" Diane struggled.

"This one? Yeah I think it is!" Dan grabbed one of the stone figurines. "Hey Jade! You in there?"

The stone figurine didn't answer and Dan wondered if he could be unconscious in that kind of state. When Firestorm's roar of pain suddenly sounded from down the corridor, Dan decided to trust his gut feeling. Taking hold of both stone Charizard figures, the young Charmander raced back towards his friend's position.

* * *

Kris barely remembered stepping into the battle arena. Her pervious days had been too much of a blur to even think much. But once the bell sounded to begin the battle royal, but only though on her mind was survival.

Various beams and projectile attacks were suddenly flying everywhere as she dodged.

A massive Aggron clashed against a Typhlosion nearby, and Kris steered clear of that confrontation. She knocked a whizzing Gligar out of the way as she searched for some sort of an opening amongst the battle thirsty crowd.

Suddenly, a strong grip caught her from behind.

"Kris! Listen! It's me!" A familiar voice called.

"Nightslice?" Kris cranked her neck to see the other Scizor behind her.

"Play along and look like you're struggling." Nightslice whispered, wrapping his arms around her neck.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Kris continued, feinting a struggle.

"It's a long story, but I'm here to rescue you."

"Not a very good job if you're in here too."

"Well, I've got a couple of friends on the sidelines working things out for me."

"Ha resourceful as always." Kris managed a laugh.

"Hang on, this'll be quick." Nightslice reached for her collar.

"Hey what are you…"

With a snap, Nightslice snipped it off. Kris closed her eyes, but felt nothing of the electric shocks that were supposed to come.

"Little handy work from my friends." Nightslice smirked, pulling his own collar off as well. "So what do you say? We blow this joint?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

"Where's Bahamut by the way?"

"They kept him in one of the storage lockers upstairs. Guess they figured a Scizor doesn't need a sword in this arena."

"We'll have to do without him then." Nightslice frowned.

"Yeah, won't be easy." Kris agreed. "There's a lot of tough competition here."

"Then, what are we waiting for?"

The pair looked into each other's eyes and nodded, before 'forcing' each other away and dashing to opposite ends of the arena.

* * *

It was dark inside the locker room and the Shadow Drake serving as a guard yawned. Hardly anyone came by this corridor and he figured that it wouldn't hurt to get a few winks of sleep. He'd been missing a lot of that lately.

Suddenly, a shadow passed over him and the Shadow Drake snapped up. However, he was much too slow and the intruder slammed him in the face, knocking the unwary dragon out without a sound. The intruder caught his unconscious body before it even hit the ground and quickly stuffed him into a nearby locker.

Yellow armored claws reached out and searched through each locker in turn, until they came to the one thing they wanted….the sword that held Bahamut's spirit.

The ancient dragon spirit within the sword was initially startled at being 'let' out of the darkness. However, what surprised him even more was the intruder itself.

_(You…you're…) _Bahamut gasped.

However, he could do nothing in his current sword form as the intruder snatched him from his position within the locker.

* * *

"Rargh!" Firestorm hissed, clutching his left shoulder. "That hurt!"

_(Well duh, the guy just threw a huge rock at it.) _Lombadra's voice sounded from the sword on the floor, where Firestorm had dropped him.

"Shut up! You're not helping you know?"

_(I would if I could, but…) _

The remaining Marcargo started pounding the floor again, shaking more rocks loose from the ceiling. Firestorm lowered his body and charged, dodging between the rocks. He was right in front of the Marcargo when he stopped and flipped over his opponent.

The other fire-type was slow to turn and Firestorm readied his Iron Tail as he landed. The Marcargo was just in time to catch Firestorm's glowing tail attack as it smashed into his face, slamming him into the wall.

"Hargh! Whew…" Firestorm stood panting amongst the army of defeated Slugma. "All right, who's next?'

A soft click echoed through the cave, causing Firestorm to instinctively move. A blob of grayish goop splattered on the spot he'd been standing on.

"Swift move." An older Charizard, Tsung, moved into view, holding his strange bazooka-type weapon.

"You can save your praise for when I wipe the floor with your ass!" Storm yelled. "Now, do I have to ask you to release the captured Charizard, or should I go do it myself?"

"You highly overestimate your chances." Tsung snapped his fingers.

The Regirock golem slowly rose out of the ground nearby. At the same time, Storm felt the stones trembling at his feet. But before he could move, the ground rose up and wrapped itself around his legs.

_Rock Tomb! _Storm realized. _Got to get out fast, before it… _

Bashaamo interrupted his thoughts by leaping in and delivering a hard kick to his face. She grabbed the stunned Charizard by the neck and hurled him towards the back of the cavern. Firestorm had barely gotten up when Bashaamo sumersalted behind him and grabbed him.

"This is the proper way to chokehold a victim." She smirked.

"Grrr….arrrgghh!"

"This is over." Tsung calmly raised his weapon.

"Oh no you don't!" Dan shouted as he came dashing in.

With a fierce growl, the Charmander ran between Bashaamo's legs and sank his fangs into her ankle. The female screamed in pain, releasing her hold enough for Firestorm to take control. The Charizard pulled his opponent over his shoulders and slammed her back against the ground.

Getting down on all fours, Firestorm ran along the ground, holding Bashaamo's arm in his jaws and dragging her along. Tsung was startled by the sudden turn of events and hesitated for too long. Firestorm shoved Bashaamo forward.

The Blaziken slid along the floor and ploughed into her companions, taking all three down. Tsung's weapon hit the stony surface hard, crackling with electricity as it overloaded and shorted out.

"Dammit!" The traitorous Charizard cursed.

"Thanks." Firestorm breathed as he retrieved Lombadra's sword. "I needed that one."

"You should take this too." Dan tossed him Jade's stone figurine and ducked behind a boulder for cover. "That's Jade, or what he's been turned into at least."

"Great, now how do I fix him?" Firestorm asked, shifting Lombadra about.

_(Just try to meld. As long as it's really Jade, it'll work.) _

"And if it's not?"

_(You'll just overcharge your body and get yourself fried to a crisp.) _

"Oh, how optimistic…" Storm groaned sarcastically.

"Overheat!" Bashaamo was back on her feet and had sent a huge wave of flames towards their position.

"Lombadra! Do it now!" Firestorm yelled as the flames engulfed them.

"Grrr…" Bashaamo squinted, trying to make out the effects of her attack.

The flames suddenly dispersed, leaving a single figure standing there. It was a humanoid dragon, colored mainly in white with red armored sections. The Kanji symbol for Fire glowed in the center of his chest as the dragon roared, lashing his tail about and spreading wings made out of fire from his back.

From behind his cover, Dan stared in awe as the dragon waved his claw, giving him a quick thumbs-up.

"Finally, it was getting rather cramped in there." Lombadra hissed, cracking his neck.

"Humph, well met then, Fire Dragon." Bashaamo stepped into a fighting stance.

_(Well, if I'm in here, that means that it worked.) _Firestorm laughed. (_Hey Jade! Jade?)_

_(Ugh…) _Jade's voice was soft and weak. _(Storm? You're here? What…)_

_(Don't ask too many questions now. Leave it to Lombadra.) _

Ignoring the chatter in his mind, Lombadra leaned forward and sprayed a burst of flames from his jaws.

"Flamethrower!"

Bashaamo dodged, her Agility ability kicking in as she approached his position. In a flash, she lashed out with a Blaze Kick. Lombadra jumped back and slashed with both his claws, knocking her backwards.

The nimble warrior bounded off the wall and came right back. However, Lombadra was already one step ahead and ducked beneath her aerial attack. Bracing himself against the ground, Lombadra prepared for an upwards strike as Bashaamo's eyes widened.

"Fire Punch!" Lombadra roared, throwing off a full-forced uppercut.


	20. Ballad of Fire and Steel

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Ballad of Fire and Steel**

By nightdragon0

Bashaamo spun upwards and hit the ceiling with a loud thud. Despite that, she pulled herself off and dropped to the ground. Lombadra struck while his foe was off balance, knocking the Blaziken flat onto her back.

The agile warrior shot up with a sweeping kick, nearly catching Lombadra off guard. He barely managed to hop over the low attack and somersaulted backwards. Bashaamo sprang to her feet and lunged as Lombadra finished his back flip. The fire dragon was able to respond with a timely two-fist thrust, throwing Bashaamo further away instead.

The Blaziken skidded, but braced herself against the ground with all fours. She suddenly came charging back, slamming Lombadra into the nearest wall.

"Damn, she's this strong?" The dragon hissed, furiously nursing his aching right shoulder.

"Overheat!" Bashaamo opened her jaws, a fiery glow raging within.

"Fire Blast!" Lombadra put his claws together and threw off his own flaming burst.

The two attacks met in the center of the cavern as both fighters struggled to keep the pressure on. However, it soon became apparent that Lombadra was the one with the upper hand this time.

Upon that realization, Bashaamo cut off her flames and attempted to dive away.

She was too slow and ended up being hurled against the wall by the force of the explosion. There was an ear-splitting crunch as the outer layer of the stone wall shattered, leaving Bashaamo's impression on it.

The Blaziken finally lay still and didn't move.

"All right…now that's she's taken care of…" Lombadra panted, trying to catch his breath. "Where are you mister elder? Because you're next!"

"I admire your confidence…" The Charizard's voice echoed through the darkness of the cavern. "But like I said, you overestimate your chances. I suppose I'll just have to prove that to you."

"Bring it on! And I'll…"

BOMP! Lombadra started as a heavy footstep sounded nearby. Before he could do so much as turn around, the large arm of Regirock swept him off his feet.

Lombadra rolled into a wall and ended up spitting out the dirt and rocks that had gotten into his mouth. A large shadow descended upon him and Lombadra looked up just in time to see the bulky form of Regirock coming down from above.

"Oh son of a…."

STOMP!

* * *

Kris and Nightslice each bounded up opposite walls of the arena. Leaping off once they were close to the top of the dome-shaped building, the two spread their wings and went for the indoor stadium lights.

Unlike their pre-evolutions, Scizors couldn't really fly well, but they could glide for long enough.

In front of the astonished crowd watching from behind the glass walls of the grandstand, Kris and Nightslice slowly plunged the stadium into darkness.

Nightslice roared once they were done as a signal to Kris, and the pair smashed through the glass walls. That threw the spectators into a blind state of panic.

Those less inclined to confrontations turned and started running, shoving and trampling over each other in the process. Others began firing off random elemental breath attacks, striking their fellows and provoking return fire.

It wasn't long before any sense of order was forgotten and everything lost in the frenzied, roaring mess.

Kris spotted Nightslice diving into a control room at the rear of the viewing area, and quickly followed suit, ducking between the legs of the larger dragons around.

"Kris!" Nightslice practically jumped into her in a long hug.

"Whoa, hey I missed you too, but I'm all right." Kris gasped. "At least I will be if you let me breathe!"

"Sorry, it's just that I've been really worried about you." He replied, relaxing his grip. "I mean, not like it hasn't happened before, but you know, we're still stuck in a whole other world here. Not to mention those dreams and the voices I kept hearing in my head."

"Yes, what happened to Storm and you anyway? You guys never came back after…"

"It's a long, sad story that I don't want to talk about right now." Nightslice sighed, eyeing a control panel. "Hmm, I wonder what this does?"

With a pincer, he smashed the entire panel apart, short-circuiting the system. At the same time, the electronically sealed doors of the arena below opened, allowing the Pokemon there to run freely out, and hopefully cause more chaos in the building before escaping.

"Well, that's done." Nightslice nodded.

"Yeah, we should retrieve Bahamut and get out of here." Kris agreed. "Staying longer will only…hey, hold on!"

Kris had spotted an unpleasantly familiar figure lurking close to the control room.

"It's Klinge." She growled. "The creep who brought me here in the first place! Well, now it's payback time!"

"Hey wait!" Nightslice began.

CRASH! Kris smashed through the control room's window and planted a two-footed kick neatly on the dragon's back. Her nemesis let off a startled cry as he fell the flight of stairs and hit the ground nearby.

"Grrr…you…" Klinge growled furiously, drawing his pair of crescent-shaped blade weapons.

"Yes, it's me.' Kris returned the snarl. "Now that I'm off your hook, we can have a little rematch."

"Humph, you always did seem a little smart to be just another Pokemon."

At the same time, the two drew back and struck, their claws meeting in a fury of blows. The two kept it at a stalemate, forcing each other back and forth. That was until Nightslice approached from the rear.

Klinge spotted the flicker of movement and lifted his arms up as he spun away from Kris. Nightslice blocked, but had his arm knocked downwards. With his body in a lowered position, Nightslice simply rammed the Saber Dragon with his shoulder, causing him to stumble.

The Steel elemental was not easily wavered and lashed out with a hard kick, sending Nightslice spinning away. Kris attacked and pounded on Klinge's back, which stunned the dragon momentarily.

She moved in for a second strike, but Klinge surprised her by twirling his body out of the way and whipping her back with his tail. What startled Kris the most was that it was a tactic she would've used herself if she weren't so enraged.

Next thing she knew, she'd smashed through the glass walls of the grandstand and plummeted down to the arena below.

* * *

The dust slowly settled down after Regirock brought its massive bulk down on top of Lombadra. The room fell into silence and Dan risked a peek out from his hiding place.

All didn't seem well though as nothing moved after Regirock took a step back. Then, a raspy coughing came as Lombadra pulled himself to all fours, spitting dirt out of his jaws.

"Ha!" Lombadra grimaced. "Is that the best you can do?"

STOMP!

"RRAARGHH!"

STOMP!

"GGGAAARRRGGHH!"

STOMP!

"Arrogant fool." Tsung muttered. "This'll show him to…hmm?"

The Charizard had just noticed that Regirock was stomping on only dirt, stirring up huge clouds of it in the enclosed cavern.

"Wait, stop! He's not there anymore!" Tsung ordered, glancing around.

Regirock did as it was told and stood motionless, apparently not sensing its opponent's presence. Tsung reached down to his neck and brought up a brown colored crystal that was fixed to his necklace. Focusing on the Ground Elemental powers within it, he began to probe the area for Lombadra's presence.

That was when the Fire Dragon burst out of the ground next to him with a Fire Punch, slamming Tsung aside and dislodging the crystal from his necklace. Lombadra immediately followed up by somersaulting and snatching the crystal out of the air.

A stabbing pain suddenly sliced at his wrist and Lombadra screamed, dropping the crystal.

"Air Cutter." Tsung smirked, lowering his wings. "Makes even thin air hurt, doesn't it?"

"Well I won't be stopped that easily!" Lombadra jumped for the crystal, but was blocked by Regirock, and simply bounced off its huge mass. "Gurgh!"

Cracks appeared in the stony walls that Lombadra was thrown into.

"I'll show you the true power of this thing." Tsung's voice rang out.

"No…the Spirit Crystal!" Lombadra looked up just in time to see Tsung tossing the Ground Crystal into the body of Regirock.

The brown gem stuck in its chest and glowed, spreading the brownish light all over Regirock's body. The golem raised its arms as dozens of huge rock chunks rose with them, levitating above the ground. Lombadra's eyes widened as he was assaulted by the most massive Rock Slide ability he'd even seen.

There was simply no way to dodge as the rocks smashed into his body, leaving him battered and bruised in too many spots to count. Lombadra was still reeling from the earlier attack when he was blasted by a blinding burst of light, and covered his head with his arms.

What shocked him was that when he uncovered his face, Lombadra realized that his left arm had been turned to stone from the claw-tips to the elbow joint. And the stone curse was rapidly creeping up to the rest of his body.

"No…" He stared, horrified.

_(It must be Regirock's powers combined with the crystal!) _Firestorm's voice told him. _(You might need to take out that golem to stop the petrifaction!) _

"That's easy for you to say!" Lombadra hissed. "When you're not the one about to be turned to stone!"

_(Hey, we'll be stuck inside of you if that happens.) _Jade's voice spoke up. _(And that's the last thing any of us want.)_

_(You're up awfully fast Jade.) _Storm remarked.

_(It's hard to get any rest with you guys banging around outside. Man, everything I see is spinning…I'm so confused.) _

"Hm?" Lombadra snapped. "That's it."

Even with the numbness spreading through his body, Lombadra sprang off the ground and charged at Regirock. The golem simply punched him in the face and grabbed him while he was stunned.

Lombadra struggled to no avail as Regirock's grip tightened. Meanwhile, the stone curse had crept all over his torso and stomach area, moving slowly down to his legs.

"You're out matched!" Tsung snarled.

"Why don't you put some bite into your bark and come get me!" Lombadra defiantly yelled.

"If you wish for me to smash you to pebbles, then so be it!" Tsung leapt into the air, his tail glowing as his Iron Tail ability charged up.

Lombadra's eyes then flashed purple as he stared directly into those of his foe.

"Confuse Ray!"

Tsung howled in rage as his movements wavered, but as expected in his enraged state, he kept on coming. Lombadra closed his eyes as the stone curse completely covered his legs, preventing him from moving as the Iron Tail approached.

_(What the hell are you doing?) _Firestorm screamed.

Next came a loud crunch as Tsung's tail smashed through stone, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

"Ha…fool…" The Elder Charizard panted, shaking his head to clear his vision. He could just make out a stone body with its head missing and grinned to himself. "That's what you get for messing with me."

* * *

Stars and darkness clouded her vision as Kris tasted the blood in her mouth. She slowly rose, shaking away the pain and the dirt off her face.

With a salvage cry, Klinge leapt down to the arena and turned to face her. However, he was forced to move away when Nightslice pelted his position with a Hyper Beam in mid-leapt.

The cloud of dust distracted Klinge for a moment, and the Scizor took that opportunity to knock him away.

Panting and nursing his bruised lower jaw, Nightslice landed beside Kris and gave her a firm nod.

"Hey down there! I think you're looking for this!" A female voice called from the grandstand above.

All heads turned to see a gleaming sword slicing down through the air and imbedding itself into the sandy flooring.

_(Hey watch it!) _Bahamut's voice screamed. _(I am inside this thing you know?) _

"Ungrateful as always." The voice laughed. "You still haven't changed Bahamut."

The figure moved into view, causing Kris and Nightslice to gasp. Standing above them was the Thunder Dragon, the yellow, bird-like dragon known as Myollnir.

"You…" Kris muttered.

"I said we'd meet again, didn't I?" Myollnir winked. "Well what are you waiting for? I think you need that thing."

_(That thing? What are you referring to me?) _

Klinge's roar interrupted the conversation as the steel elemental staggered to his feet. Kris and Nightslice both turned their focus towards him, however it was another screech that caught their attention.

Tsubasa came gliding in and fired a bunch of his feather darts at Klinge's feet. As the dragon stumbled, Kris and Nightslice moved in on opposite sides and simultaneously slashed, breaking apart their opponent's crescent blade weapons.

Their Garuda ally spun in mid-air and struck, throwing Klinge into a wall.

"Grrr…damn fools…" Klinge hissed, rising to his feet. "Huh?"

A sudden creaking sound instinctively caused him to look up, just in time to see a large crate crashing down on his head.

"Now that did the job." Gao laughed, dusting his hands off.

Kris looked up towards Myollnir's former position, and found the Thunder Dragon gone, as expected. Friend or foe, really? There was no way to tell for sure.

"Thanks." Nightslice panted. "But why'd you two help us out?"

"Have you forgotten? You still owe me something!" Tsubasa practically screamed. "I'm not about to let you be beaten so I that I can die a slow, painful death!"

"Oh yeah." Nightslice sighed. "About that, I…"

"Hm? Watch out!" Tsubasa shoved Nightslice out of the way as a huge burst of flames rocketed towards them.

The fire elemental attack struck Tsubasa instead, slamming him into the wall and setting his feathers aflame. Tsubasa immediately sprang up, screeching loudly as he ran around, trying to douse the flames.

"A Fire Blast?" Kris stared. "Was that?"

"I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Klinge rose out from under the smashed crate with a bloody look in his eyes. "Let's finish this once and for all!"

"Now I'm really mad." Nightslice hissed, eyeing Tsubasa, then Kris. "You don't mess with my family, or my friends without getting on my bad side too! And we've got a trick of out own! Kris, let's go!"

"Always ready!" Kris snatched up Bahamut's sword in her pincer and held it up.

Their two forms shimmered for a second, and it was a larger and very different dragon that emerged.

Bahamut stood upright and folded his upper arms across his silver armored chest. His wings spread open, revealing their feather-like patterns as his powerful tail whipped about and slammed the ground. The helmet covering his elongated head and snout gleamed in the light, as did the horns on his nose and the back of his head.

"Now you've met you match!" Bahamut opened his eyes and took to the air, wings raised. "Steel Wing!"

"Quick Attack!" Klinge broke into a lighting fast sprint, dashing around Bahamut and pounding on the dragon's back.

Bahamut hit the ground face-first, but rolled over and lashed out with his tail to prevent a counterattack. It did succeed in deterring Klinge for a moment, but it wasn't long before he came right back. Bahamut folded his wings over himself as he was thrown onto his back, with Klinge standing over him.

* * *

"Nala…Nala!" The soft, but familiar voice called over and over again.

Everything was so blurred and hazy that Nala tried to rub her aching head….only to realize that she couldn't feel her hands. Thrown into a blind state of panic, Nala lashing out, feeling her forked, serpentine tongue running between her fangs.

Wait, all that couldn't be right. She couldn't possibly be herself.

It was then that Nala remembered her current form, as one of the three heads of the Legendary Dragon Erizar. She recalled that they'd come to this healing spring together, hoping to recover from their wounds sustained in the previous battle.

They'd had no problems finding the spring as it was exactly where Erizar remembered it to be. Stepping into the knee deep water gave Erizar enough space to settle down and rest her heads on the shore. The cool waters had been so relaxing and calming that all three of them must've dozed off.

There was no telling for how long they'd been asleep, but the sure thing was that they were about to get a rude awakening.

"Nala!" Riot's voice called out. "Someone's here! They're…rrarrghh!"

A large, heavy net was thrown over them. Accompanying that were the roars and shouts of various Pokemon, some of which Nala could make out from standing close by.

"Chew through!" Erizar's main head ordered. "Hurry before…ugh!"

Dozens of tranquilizer darts abruptly rained down upon the trapped 'hydra' dragon, causing her to lash about furiously.

Nala felt her muscles weakening and eventually could no longer hold herself up. Her head dropped down onto the riverbank, followed by the heads controlled by Riot and Erizar. She stayed conscious for long enough to see the silhouettes of various Pokemon scrambling over her dragon body, securing each and every limb.

Then, a heavy gunnysack was tied over her head, and Nala saw nothing but darkness.

* * *

"Impressive lesson, but too bad that you missed." Lombadra's voice suddenly rang out.

"What the? Impossible!" As Tsung's vision cleared, he noticed Lombadra standing several feet away, shaking bits and pieces of stone off his body.

The stone curse had been lifted, but that could only mean that…

"Oh no!" Tsung stared horrified as he realized he'd smashed the head and upper torso of Regirock instead. Without those parts and with the Spirit Crystal thrown off as well, the golem was useless and dropped to the ground where it remained motionless.

_(You do realize that there was a fifty percent chance he could've hit us instead, do you?) _Jade spoke up.

"But he didn't right?" Lombadra chuckled. "That's all that matters!"

"Grrr…" Tsung turned and sprinted further into the cavern.

"Get back here coward!" Lombadra roared, giving chase.

However, someone else stopped the treacherous Charizard first.

"You're not going anywhere!" Shugo jumped into view and rammed his head into Tsung's chest, knocking the older dragon backwards.

_(Shugo?) _Jade gasped. _(You're back to normal too?)_

"Guess you guys taking out that golem must've broken whatever hold the petrifaction spell had on us." Diane appeared from the rear, dusting bits of her stone casing off as well.

Dan was by his sister's side too, nodding in agreement. Further in down the cavern, the shattering of stone could be heard, followed by the moans and groans of the Charizard finally free from their stone forms.

Tsung seemed to step back, glancing around nervously. Then, he suddenly charged and Shugo reacted instinctively, stepping to the side and flipping his former Elder over. The Charizard skidded across the stony floor and hit a wall hard.

Unfortunately for him, that caused a large, sharp stalagmite to fall from the ceiling. Tsung happened to be lying right beneath it and could only look up as the spear-like rock pierced through his throat. He went down with a gurgled roar and blood spraying everywhere.

Dan covered his eyes and looked away, while everyone else simply stared, speechless.

"T…that was an accident." Shugo stuttered. "I didn't mean to do that…"

"I know it's hard Shugo." Diane walked up and placed a claw on his shoulder. "He may have been your teacher once, but now…"

Shugo took a quick glance at the faces of several other Charizard who'd managed to find the strength to stand, then nodded.

"If that's you Jade, then I have to say you're really something." Shugo tapped Lombadra on his armored chest.

_(Well, sort of…) _Jade blushed.

"But he's also with Firestorm!" Dan jumped up. "And that voice in the sword too!"

"Fine, mention me the last." Lombadra folded his arms and huffed. "I was the one who saved everybody's butts after all."

_(You?) _Firestorm snapped. _(You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the two of us!) _

Lombadra retrieved the Ground Elemental Spirit Crystal and dusted it off before adding it to a stash in his armor. Somehow, he knew that it would be transferred to Jade and Firestorm when they changed forms.

A soft scraping sound suddenly caught everybody's attention as a shadowy figure sprinted past.

"It's Bashaamo!" Lombadra realized. "I'm going after her!"

"Hey hang on!" Diane and Shugo leapt after the Fire Dragon as they descended further into the tunnel.

Their quarry was barely visible in the darker sections of the cavern and seemed to be kneeling down. A soft hiss echoed through the cave, as if a fuse had been lit. Lombadra's eyes widened as a miniature rocket suddenly shot towards him.

Shugo tackled Lombadra, taking them both down and leaving the rocket to fly over their heads. Standing further behind the pair, Diane raised her claws and formed a translucent energy shield around herself. The rocket made contact and did nothing more than send her stumbling.

"A Protect ability?" Lombadra looked up.

"Yeah, sure came in handy." Diane breathed.

"Here come more!" Shugo warned as the trio dove for cover.

Bashaamo seemed to have a rather large supply of the miniature rockets and kept the bombardment up.

"You smell that?" Lombadra sniffed. "Some strange chemical…"

_(Not gunpowder definitely.) _Firestorm noted.

_(You're right about that Storm.) _Jade added in. _(Or else the roof might be coming down on our heads right now. Those rockets are exploding only because they're hitting the rocks. Or to tell the truth, they're not really explosives at all. More like a carrier for those chemicals.) _

"Chemicals?" Diane wondered.

_(My guess is that they were shooting these into the clouds to bring about the rainfall.) _Jade continued.

"If so, then it explains the freak weather conditions." Shugo growled.

_(Not bad Jade.) _Firestorm laughed.

_(I did go to school, unlike you.) _

"Hmmm, so that also means that…" Lombadra clenched his fists. "I can do this without worrying about a cave-in! RRRROOOAAARRRR!"

The Fire Dragon sprang up and charged, slamming the rockets away with his claws. Bashaamo looked up just in time to see Lombadra's Fire Blast attack torching the storage crates, and igniting all the rocket fuses within.

"Jade!" Diane called as rockets flew about wildly.

However Lombadra was not about to stop and ploughed into the disorientated Blaziken, sending the two rolling over in a heap. In the midst of the struggle, the combatants shoved each other into a circle of runes carved into the ground, which begun to glow with a reddish light.

"No, the teleporter!" Bashaamo cried.

_(She's right, it's activating!) _Jade agreed. _(Lombadra get out before it…) _

Jade never got to complete his sentence as both Legendary Dragon and Blaziken vanished in a flash of light.

* * *

The Legendary Dragon suddenly kicked up, tossing Klinge over him.

Klinge rolled to a kneeling position and slashed, catching Bahamut across his face. Enraged, the latter jumped up and with his claws glowing like flames. He slammed his Dragon Claw attack into the ground, unfortunately missing Klinge each time.

"Too bad you aim is greatly off!" Klinge snarled, landing neatly on his feet.

"Oh, you think so? Then come and get me!" Bahamut taunted.

With a howl, Klinge charged…only to get his foot caught as it dropped into a porthole. It was one of the many created when Bahamut had been slamming the rocky ground earlier, thus weakening it. The next thing he knew, Bahamut was upon him.

As the two locked claws, Klinge twisted, forcing Bahamut to let go in a cry of pain. Klinge took advantage of the situation and used both hands to force his weight against Bahamut's left wrist, breaking the bones within with a loud snap.

Bahamut roared in pain and attempted to pry Klinge off with his right hand. Klinge simply caught the feeble attempt with one hand and grasped his other hand around Bahamut's neck.

Even with his wrist broken, Bahamut lifted up his left arm…revealing the laser blaster hidden beneath a panel on his forearm, and jabbed it into Klinge's chest.

His opponent's eyes went wide as the blaster glowed.

"Got you." Bahamut grinned, and then fired.

The point blank range blast sent Klinge flying upwards, smashing through the glass window and landing in the grandstand. Thankfully, the steel elemental didn't get up this time.

_(Whew, finally.) _Nightslice gasped. _(Too bad you had to break a wrist to do that!) _

"Oh shut up! You're not the one feeling it hurt here now!"

"OW! OW! OW! OWOWOOWOWO!" Tsubasa had finally gotten the idea to start rolling in the sand to put out his flames.

By this time, Gao had arrived on the lower level too, only to see his friend looking very much like a fried chicken with all his normally brown feathers burnt black. The feathers that remained, however, weren't very numerous at all, leaving the Minotaur to burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Tsubasa demanded. "I almost died you know?"

"Sorry…" Gao muttered between giggles. "But it's still…"

"Hysterical." Bahamut finished, folding his arms.

"Hey, that's you in there, isn't it Nightslice?" Tsubasa sat up.

_(Yeah, technically so.) _Nightslice replied. _(About my end of the deal, well, quite frankly…I lied.)_

"W…what?"

_(I never did poison you in the first place.) _

"WHAT?" Tsubasa waited a full minute before bursting out. "You mean I got myself fried to a crisp, for nothing?"

_(It was pretty brave of you though.) _Kris spoke up. _(That's always admirable in a person.) _

"It's true, you know bro?" Gao agreed. "I'm proud of you. Plus, we're out of debt now!"

_(You two should probably get out of town and lie low for a while.) _Nightslice suggested. _(Though I don't think there's much of a choice in your case Tsubasa.) _

"Oh thanks a lot." The Garuda sighed. "At least my feathers will grow back after a while."

"If you'll excuse me, but if everybody's done talking, we still have somebody to go after." Bahamut spoke up. "And that's Myollnir."

The Steel Dragon could feel Kris and Nightslice 'nodding' in agreement to his statement.

"Guess I'm not in the position to ask what's going on at all." Gao began. "But I'll tell you guys, good luck."

Tsubasa silently nodded as well.

"You can count on it." Bahamut gave the two a thumbs-up with his good hand before turning and dashing out of the arena. Silently, he knew that he was going to start screaming over his broken wrist once he was out of earshot.

* * *

"This is the port city of Olivine." Gwyen explained as the duo walked through the streets. "It's one of the busiest port cities in the Johto region, from what I've heard about it."

"It's the same where I come from." Hazuki nodded. "Although the inhabitants are somewhat different."

Pokemon species of every kind were simply strolling about the streets, carrying out their own business. None seemed to pay any attention to Gwyen and a rather out-of-place Hazuki, something that made her sigh in relief.

"Nice to be back on my own too feet too, after that long ride Alric and company gave us." Gwyen remarked. "Being out at sea wasn't too bad, but I'll stick to fresh water from now on. What do you say Hazuki?"

"Huh? Oh what was that?" Hazuki blinked.

"Forget about it."

"No, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about Alric."

_(About what he said?) _Asiyu's voice sounded from the Ankh strapped to Hazuki's belt. _(I know he told us that Johto is Pokemon grounds and dragons aren't appreciated here. I haven't forgotten and I'll stay in here unless it's absolutely necessary.)_

"No, it's just that he reminded me so much of another Lapras I knew." Hazuki said softly. "But he died….saving my life."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stir up any bad memories." Gwyen paused.

"That's all right." Hazuki replied. "I just…hey! Look there!"

"Where?"

_(It's them!) _Asiyu hissed. _(Those two clowns that dropped us into the sea in the first place!) _

Gwyen and Hazuki ducked behind a fruit stall and glanced over to an Aggron and Rhydon pair known as Sano and Uno respectively. The two were chewing on some large chunks of meat and laughing.

"Let's watch them for a while." Gwyen suggested. "If those two really do have links to Raguragi like they told us, we might be able to find out something by following them."

"Yes, I agree." Hazuki nodded.

The dinosaur duo was soon on the move and trailing them proved to be no challenge at all. Gwyen and Hazuki did their best to blend in discreetly with the crowd, following their foes all the way to a warehouse located by the docks at the edge of town.

Sano and Uno entered, locking the door behind them. However, searching the alleys around the building yielded results in the form of a loose brick on the wall, revealing a hole which both eagerly peeked through.

There, they were greeted with another unpleasantly familiar sight…Juncan, the Grovyle who had worked with Bashaamo and Raguragi during the battle against Bahamut, Lombadra and themselves.

All three were talking too softly for both Gwyen and Hazuki to hear, however there was something else that caught their attention. There was a battered figure chained to the walls on the opposite side.

It was definitely some kind of dragon, though it was better described as a gray and brown Gargoyle with a reptilian face and long wings stretching from his back. The tall figure was motionless, though his chest was rising and falling, indicating that he was at very least alive.

Another distinctive feature, the horn at the end of his snout, had been snapped off.

As Hazuki stared harder, there was no denying it. She'd had a personal encounter with this dragon some time back, and there was no denying his identity. He was a Legendary Dragon like Zian and Asiyu, though his 'Pokemon' type was the Fighting element.

"Kioi!" Hazuki gasped.


	21. Rumble in the Heartlands

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Rumble in the Heartlands**

By nightdragon0

"Sure this is the place?" Kris asked.

_(I'm positive.) _Bahamut's voice replied. _(I can sense Myollnir in there, although I get the feeling that she's letting me 'see' her on purpose.) _

The extra energy, which built-up in Bahamut's sword form after not melding for so long, had held Kris in her Scizor guise for long enough. She was back to human form now, but with Nightslice alongside her once more.

Together, they'd made their way to the realm's Saffron City, and were peeking out from beneath a manhole cover on the pavement. Not the most prestigious way, but certainly one that had gotten them in undetected.

"She probably wants us to find her here." Nightslice growled. "I smell a trap."

"Still, it was her leader who called us to this place." Kris muttered. "This Prophet that he calls himself…"

"But this building…" Nightslice looked up.

"Yes, the version in our real world holds a lot of bad memories." Kris nodded. "Silph Company."

The pair simultaneously looked up, scanning the area from the fenced compound, barb wires, spotlights….all the way up to the tall building with its gleaming glass windows.

_(Hello? This isn't the time for reminiscence here!)_

"Um, yeah." Kris agreed, though slightly annoyed at the interruption.

"Right now, we need a plan for getting in." Nightslice spoke up.

_(How about you two just change into me and let me blast my way through.)_

"As exhilarating as that sounds, that isn't going to accomplish much." Kris folded her arms. "Other than land us with a severe beating."

_(Aw come on! You highly underestimate me!) _

"Let's leave him to deal with his superiority complex and think of something else, all right?" Nightslice huffed.

_(Huh? Wa…what the heck is that?)_

"Yeah, well we can try exploring these sewers more and see if there's an entrance." Kris continued. "Or we can look for a weak point in the fence."

"Might be difficult with those spotlights." Nightslice interjected. "And I'm guessing that those fences have pressure sensors from all the wiring down there."

_(Hey! Quit ignoring me! Am I invisible or something!) _Bahamut yelled.

Kris whipped out his sword form and banged it against the railing for good measure. Just then, the roaring of engines forced the two to duck and lower the manhole cover. An entire convoy of container trucks had just rumbled through the streets and stopped at the building's entrance for the security inspection.

Once the trucks had stopped, the group found that one truck was positioned right over their manhole. These vehicles had a high undercarriage too, perfect for…

Kris and Nightslice glanced towards each other and nodded.

* * *

"We've got to help him somehow." Hazuki muttered, continuing to watch.

"So, that dragon is a friend of yours, you mentioned?" Gwyen confirmed.

"Well, not exactly, but…"

_(He's a Legendary Dragon, something like myself.)_ Asiyu told her. _(Zian was sure that the other 6 dragons besides himself who survived the ancient wars were killed by this new threat. But it turns out Kioi has also survived somehow.) _

"But it might not be for much longer however." Gwyen hissed. "Listen, Juncan and the gang and speaking up again!"

"But boss, we paid a whole lot to get this one out of the slave pens!" Sano the Aggron was protesting. "They said it was a rare, one of a kind breed and…"

"That's because it's a Legendary Dragon you idiot!" Juncan yelled. "Or at least he was, but his powers, in the form of the Spirit Crystal, have been stripped away. The Master must've thought he died after the attack, but he's somehow wound up here. And just as well too, because I'm selling him along with the other one off to the bank manager as a bribe."

"The Master they keep taking about." Hazuki muttered. "I wonder if it's really the same Kaiser that we once fought…"

"The other one? Oh yeah the three-headed one that was frozen down at Sixth Avenue." Uno the Rhydon scratched his head.

"That's correct. So all I need you to do is wait here and guard this one until the laboratory guys arrive to put this one in deep freeze too. Think it's something your limited minds can handle while I'm off on my bank job?"

"Yeah boss, no problem."

The trio lowered their voices again and Hazuki pressed her ear against the wall.

"No good, I can't hear anything else." She frowned.

"Let me try." Gwyen pushed forward and leaned against the wall too.

As the combined weight of the Suicune and Hazuki went against the wall, the structure suddenly gave way. It turned out that the wall was in fact a hidden, revolving door that had spun open, sending the two sprawling into full view of Juncan's group.

"Well, well, our interlopers have finally decided to make their appearance." The Grovyle laughed. "You think we wouldn't check out the place before discussing our important issues so openly?"

"Oh no…" Gwyen looked down at the floor section that had rotated with the door and noticed a neatly concealed speaker. "They had the place bugged! They were listening to us the whole time!"

"It's elementary, my dear ladies." Juncan smirked, chewing on the twig in his mouth. "So, are you ready to surrender peacefully?"

"Not on your life!" Hazuki yelled. "Gwyen, Asiyu! Let's get ready!"

At that, Juncan leapt back and pressed the leaf blades on his forearms against the half-conscious Kioi's throat.

"Oh really? Just try and take another step." Juncan taunted.

"Dammit!" Gwyen snarled.

"Hahaha, well these are the times when it pays to be the bad guy. Muuwwhahahahahaha!"

* * *

The trucks rumbled one by one into the large space designated for loading and unloading materials. A group of rough-looking dragons were already there to facilitate that movement, using mechanical cranes designed for the purpose.

The dragon groups consisted of a mix of quadrupled Rock Dragons and upright Shadow Drakes. Notably, all wore protective yellow suits over most of their upper bodies, along with helmets that had visors over their faces.

Nightslice was easily able to grab onto the underside of the truck with his razor sharp pincers whilst Kris found a loose section to hook her sword onto, thus supporting herself.

From their vantage points, the two watched and waited until their truck had docked itself in the unloading bay. The pair immediately sprang into action, dropping from their hiding places and dashing into the shadows.

In the blink of an eye, the infiltrators had made their way to a secluded spot behind some machinery.

"Well that went well enough." Kris breathed.

_(If everyone's done patting themselves on the back, how about some action here?) _Bahamut growled.

"Not everything needs to be achieved with brute force you know?" Kris replied, picking up a coil of rope by her feet.

_(And what are you planning to do?)_

"Just watch and learn."

* * *

"Ow! Ow! Man, that has to be the dumbest thing we've ever done!" Gwyen pounded her head against the door. "This is so frustrating! Ow!"

The metallic cell was all gray and featureless, with nothing but the outline of the door visible by light of the ceiling lamp.

"That's not really what worries me." Hazuki said glumly. "It's Juncan. He's got Asiyu's Ankh now and there's no telling what he'll do with her."

"Yeah, that too." Gwyen paused for a while, and then went back to pounding her head on the door. "Ow! Ow!"

"How long are you going to keep doing that?"

"Ow! Until you figure out a way to get us out of here. Ow!"

"That's provided that you don't suffer from permanent brain damage first." Hazuki sighed. "And even if we do get out, they're probably waiting for us right outside the door. Without my weapon, I won't be able to help you much."

"Did you hear what Juncan mentioned earlier about having a three-headed dragon on freeze?" Gwyen suddenly asked.

"I did." Hazuki nodded. "You think it's of any importance?"

"If Juncan's so intent on selling that dragon along with Kioi, then our three-headed friend is probably another Legendary Dragon. It's just a hunch, but…"

"No, I think you might be on to something." Hazuki noted. "We could…"

Gwyen suddenly strode over and clamped a paw over Hazuki's mouth. Startled, Hazuki involuntarily let off a muffled cry. However, Gwyen gestured towards the opposite wall with another paw.

Hazuki didn't see it at first, but embedded in the wall was a miniature speaker. Much like the one that had gotten them caught outside, only this one was many times smaller.

_They were listening to us again! _Hazuki thought furiously.

Gwyen pointed to the speaker, then the door and made a sneaky grin. Hazuki immediately realized what her partner was planning.

"That's a pretty good idea Hazuki." Gwyen spoke. "It might actually get us out of here."

"Oh, really?" Hazuki played along.

"Tell me how it works again." Gwyen smirked, quietly moving over to the speaker.

"Don't know if we'll be able to pull it off with these limited resources, but chemistry should play a part." Hazuki continued.

Gwyen waved her paw up and down, indicating for Hazuki to lower her voice.

"So, by spraying ice all over the metal door, it'll contract see? Since metal is greatly affected by cold and heat…"

On the other side of the door, Sano was seated on a couch with a pair of headphones on. Those were connected to the instruments on a nearby table, which he was using to eavesdrop on Hazuki and Gwyen's conversation.

"Hmm? Damn?" Upon hearing Hazuki's tone getting softer, Sano cranked the volume up, fully intent on hearing their secret plan.

On the other side of the wall, Gwyen took a deep, long breath.

"COME HEAR IT YOURSELF GOOFBALL!" The Suicune roared into the hidden microphone at the top of her lungs.

"Bbbaaarrrgghhhh!" Sano's eyes went wide as eardrums nearly burst. The massive dino dropped to the ground and lay dazed there for a while. "Why those kids! I'll show them!"

Stomping the ground in rage, Sano lumbered over to the cell door and threw it open…only to find that there was nobody there.

"Huh? Where'd they go to?" He wondered, stepping in to have a closer look.

Right on cue, Gwyen and Hazuki dropped down from the ceiling and stamped on his head. While the dino was stunned, the two skipped out the door and slammed it shut, locking the door with a loud click.

"Hey! No fair!" Sano pounded on the door. "Lemme outta here! Hey! Help!"

"All right!" Hazuki and Gwyen gave each other high-fives as they raced up the stairs. They did pause, however, to grab the bundle of keys left behind by Sano.

* * *

The Shadow Drake took a seat on the stack of crates and tossed his helmet off in relief. Despite all the mechanical help, there was still much to be done manually and that had him sweating in his suit.

The unwary dragon was taking a sip of water, thinking about the nightclub he would go down to after his shift, when Nightslice crept up from behind. The Scizor had the ends of the rope tied around his wrists and threw the center portion around the Shadow Drake's neck.

He pulled the ropes taunt as the dragon struggled. All he got off was a gurgled cry before his air supply was cut off. Kris leapt into view of their panicked foe and pounded his head repeatedly with the butt of her sword.

Finally, the Shadow Drake lapsed into unconsciousness.

"Time for you to take a nice long nap." Kris smirked as they stripped their victim of his protective clothing. With Nightslice's help, she bound the dragon, muzzled his snout and chucked him into one of the empty storage containers.

"You should be able to fit nicely into these." Nightslice remarked, gesturing towards the protective suit. "Just pull the visor down and no one will recognize you Bahamut."

_(What? I have to put that on?) _Bahamut screeched. _(This has got to be the dumbest idea you…)_

"Look, do you want to go after Myollnir or not?" Kris interrupted, giving the sword a shake. "This is the best way to do it without bringing down a whole army on us. And frankly, I don't care what you think! If you're after her badly enough, then…"

_(All right, fine! Fine!) _Bahamut sighed in defeat. _(But I'm not going to like this.)_

* * *

The two emerged into the same warehouse room as before and found Kioi still chained to the wall there. Hazuki heaved a sigh of relief as they dashed to his side.

"Kioi, if you can hear me, we're gonna get you out of here." Hazuki whispered, fumbling with his chains. "Just hang on!"

Hazuki found the lock and begun trying each of the keys in the bundle, one by one.

"Hurry partner." Gwyen whispered, glancing nervously towards the stairs. "I'd help, but I don't exactly have reversed thumbs."

With all the noise Sano was making, it wouldn't be long before his buddy, or anyone else in the neighborhood heard all this.

Groaning, Kioi stirred and opened his eyes. Immediately, the dragon stared at Hazuki in a mixture of shock and amazement.

"You'll be all right." Hazuki assured him. "Just hang on there."

Kioi opened his jaws to say something, but it came out as a gurgled grunt more than anything else. In a series of satisfying clicks, Hazuki got the key and lock combination right, throwing Kioi's heavy chains off.

The Legendary Dragon immediately collapsed, breathing painfully.

It was only now that Hazuki took in the full extent of his injuries. His limbs had dozens of scars about, some still relatively fresh with dried blood. All along his back were marks from whippings, several lashed on top of the other without even giving the previous ones a chance to heal.

His leathery wings too had been ripped to shreds and it was a wonder that they were still attached to his back at all. It was obviously that Kioi would never fly again on his own.

"Help him." Hazuki quickly shook off those thoughts. The time to feel sorry for him would have to come later.

Gwyen lowered her body and Hazuki hurriedly shoved Kioi onto her back.

"What's going on here?" Uno stomped into the room and switched on the lights. "What? How'd you get out?"

"Grrr…don't ask questions!" Sano burst out from the basement door, having smashed his way out of the cell. "And stop them now!"

"Right on bro! They're mine!" Uno lowered his head and charged.

"RRAARRGHH!" Sano followed suit, attacking from their rear.

"Oh no…" Hazuki gasped. They were trapped in the middle of the room by two raging dinosaur Pokemon.

"Which do I attack first?" Gwyen muttered.

"I…I don't know…" Hazuki staggered, feeling the empty space of where Asiyu's Ankh should've been. "What would Asiyu do in this situation?"

_Asiyu…Asiyu wouldn't want to fight if she could avoid it, but…hey that's it!_

"Gwyen!" Hazuki clambered onto her partner's back with Kioi. "On my mark!"

"For what? Hey!"

Sano and Uno were drawing rapidly closer.

"JUMP! Now! Jump!" Hazuki ordered.

Gwyen reacted instantly and sprang right up into the air…leaving the dinosaur duo to crash headlong into one another. She spun in mid-air and sprayed the fallen duo with a burst of water, Hydro Pump, before stomping on their heads.

"Ouch…" Hazuki cringed.

"Now that was using your heads guys." The Suicune smirked, bounding out the door with her riders.

"Ooohh…not good…" Sano moaned, seeing stars and rubber duckies swirling around his head.

"Yeah, really…not good." Uno agreed, with swirls in his eyes. "Wadda think the boss is gonna say?"

Both the dinosaurs pictured a very angry looking Juncan in the thought bubbles above their heads. Their boss pushed his snout right up to theirs and screamed.

"I'M SURROUNDED BY MORONS!"

"Eep…" Sano and Uno muttered together.

* * *

_(You're going pretty good.) _Kris whistled. _(For someone who's a first at keeping a low profile.)_

"Grrumph." Was all Bahamut could whisper without drawing attention. He didn't want anyone thinking that he was talking to himself, though in a sense, that was what he was doing.

The white walls of the corridor seemed to glimmer with their well polished surfaces. The features however, were exactly the same, hallway after hallway. And it created a sense of being in a maze of identical corridors with doors of various sizes lining their paths.

Furthermore, none of the doors were marked. Yet the other dragons around seemed to know where they were going and carried on with their own tasks without giving so much as a glance towards Bahamut.

_(Better let him concentrate.) _Nightslice remarked. _(We can't tell exactly what he's sensing at the moment.) _

In face, Bahamut felt that Myollnir's trail had run dry. What he was really doing was walking around, following his gut feeling.

It so happened that he walked past a pair of electronically locked double doors and suddenly lurched over in pain.

_(Hey! Are you all right?) _Kris gasped.

The Steel Dragon shook the feelings off and ducked around an isolated corner.

"Something just hit me when I passed that room." Bahamut growled, pulling off his helmet. "There's an odd power source in there. Familiar, but…no…I just can't seem to pinpoint it."

_(Perhaps we should check it out.) _Nightslice suggested. _(I think we…)_

Alarms suddenly begun blaring, startling all three minds present.

"Alert! Alert! Unauthorized entry detected at the Level 2 transportation system." A computerized voice boom. "All personnel are advised to remain calm and proceed to the evacuation points in a calm and orderly manner."

_(Have we been discovered?) _Nightslice wondered. _(This is Level 2, isn't it?)_

"So, any bright ideas now?" Bahamut whispered.

_(Follow the crowd.) _Kris told him.

Bahamut donned his helmet again and joined in the flow of dragon employees trooping down the corridor. Along the way, he passed by those strange double doors again and paused. All of the other employees had moved on by this time and Bahamut reached out for the door, even though he knew it was locked.

A sudden roar sounded from around the corridor, causing Bahamut to jerk his head up. It was a very familiar voice…almost like…

Taking one last look at the door, Bahamut dashed towards the source of the noise. He rounded the corridor and…

WHAM!

"What the hell?" Bahamut was suddenly slammed hard onto his back. Lashing out instinctively with a fist, he caught his opponent beneath the chin and shoved him away.

"Grrr…why you!" The draconic voice hissed.

Then, the two dragons blinked and stared at each other.

_(Hey, what are you guys doing here?) _Firestorm's voice rang out.

_(Funny, we were about to ask you the same question.) _Nightslice replied.

"Hey! We're the ones who are supposed to ask the questions here." Lombadra fumed. "Now where is she? Did you see her run past?"

"Who?" Bahamut growled as the pair got to their feet.

"That Blaziken! You know, the one we fought before?"

"This corridor was empty until you got here."

_(In other words, that's a no.) _Kris clarified.

_(Looks like you made it in one piece Kris.) _Jade spoke up. _(A teleporter kinda threw us here and Lombadra was running in circles from…) _

"There they are!" A voice hollered. "Stop them!"

A squad consisting of Saber Dragons, Shadow Drakes and Aqua Dragons charged into the corridor. All three species were wingless, humanoid dragons that stood upright, but had different elemental properties of Steel, Dark and Water respectively. The Steel dragons were silver in color and armed with a pair of crescent shaped blades on their arms, while the black Shadow Drakes and blue Aqua Dragons carried assault rifles in their forelimbs.

Unlike the workers from earlier, these were armed guards and weren't afraid to use their weapons. Lombadra and Bahamut had to duck as bullets sprayed the walls around them.

"I'm open to suggestions, flame-face." Bahamut muttered, throwing off his suit and helmet, now that it did him no good.

"Funny, I was hoping you'd be the bright one this time." Lombadra hissed.

_(Well the advice I have for the two of you…) _Nightslice yelled. _(Is move it!) _

At that, a grenade rolled between their feet, causing both dragons to stare wide-eyed at it before diving for cover. Bahamut used his steel, 'feathered' wings to shield the pair from the shrapnel.

"You owe me one pal!" The Steel Dragon snorted.

"Same goes for you!" Lombadra suddenly shoved him aside and spewed flames from his jaws onto the approaching troops. The first two Saber Dragons caught fire, driving the others into a panic.

"Grrr…let's head this way!" Bahamut recovered and dashed down the hallway without waiting for a reply.

Still, Lombadra had no quarrel in following him.

* * *

"Now, that wasn't too hard after all." Hazuki panted.

Gwyen had taken them a long distance through the nighttime streets, and the group was now perched on a rooftop looking down at the city.

"They won't be coming after us anytime soon." Gwyen agreed.

"Guragh…" Kioi muttered something and Gwyen set him down.

"Are you all right?" Hazuki knelt down and asked. "You look really terrible."

Kioi closed his eyes and nodded.

"Do you know anything about Juncan's plans? You know that Grovyle back there?" Gwyen took a seat beside the pair.

Once again, Kioi nodded.

"Can you tell us then?"

Kioi pointed towards a building in the distance and grunted.

"Hm?" Hazuki wondered. "I don't get it."

Growling, Kioi pulled her closer and gestured towards his jaws.

"Erm, something wrong with your throat?" Hazuki wondered, peering down. "Oh my gosh!"

"What is it?" Gwyen gasped.

"His tongue has been cut out." Hazuki said softly. "I'm really sorry."

"Man, those bastards!" Gwyen hissed.

However, Kioi shook his head as if to tell them 'Don't bother about me', and kept gesturing towards the distance.

"I'm afraid that we still don't get you." Gwyen frowned. "Hazuki, you have a pen and notebook right? Let him write it down instead."

"Yes, good idea." Hazuki reached into her pocket. "Here, try using this Kioi."

The Fighting-type Dragon took hold of the pen and attempted to scribble several characters onto the notebook. What came out was completely illegible however and Kioi eventually tossed the pen away in frustration.

"You know, I think that he doesn't know how to read and write." Hazuki frowned.

"Great, so we're stuck with a mute illiterate who can't tell us a thing!" Gwyen blurted out. "This is pathetic!"

Kioi made a low growl and suddenly pounced on Gwyen, knocking the Suicune onto her back.

"Hey! Hey! I'm sorry!" Gwyen waved her front paws. "I didn't really mean that to hurt!"

"No wait, look at his pose." Hazuki noted.

Kioi was deliberately hunched forward, with one of his arms held out and the other pressed to Gwyen's neck. Almost as if there were a blade attached to the forearm.

To further emphasize his point, Kioi snatched up the pen and stuck it in his jaws, chewing it like a twig.

"He's talking about Juncan." Hazuki realized. "You know where he's gone? Is that what you're trying to tell us!"

Kioi made a 'yes' motion with his hands and nodded. Once again, he pointed off into the distance.

"Let me see." Gwyen clambered to her feet and glanced down. "Of course, now I understand!"

"What is it?"

"Juncan was talking about a bank job earlier." Gwyen explained, pointing with her nose. "He's planning to rob that one, right over there. And he mentioned bribing the bank manager too…that's most likely for a way to bypass the security systems."

"His goons said something about a Sixth Avenue too." Hazuki spoke up.

At that, Kioi dragged her aside and nodded, making a motion as if he wanted to go there right away.

"Sixth Avenue is the name of a large factory just down this street. With all the signs about, you can't possibly miss it." Gwyen told her. "According to Juncan and company, that's where this three-headed Legendary Dragon is being held."

"Then let me take Kioi there, since he wants to go." Hazuki suggested.

"No, I…"

"You have to stop Juncan." Hazuki brushed her sides. "And save Asiyu too. You stand a much better chance against him than me."

"But…"

"Trust me partner." Hazuki said firmly.

"All right, but I promise that I'll come as quickly as I can."

"I know you will."

* * *

A few minutes of running blindly through the maze of hallways led them to a large room…with a familiar face standing in the doorway.

"Were you looking for me?" Bashaamo the Blaziken folded her arms and taunted.

"Why you!" Lombadra growled, changing direction and breaking into a charge.

"Hey! Hold on you knuckle-head!" Bahamut warned.

Bashaamo stepped aside, revealing a Swampert crouched behind her. It was easily recognizable as the one named Raguragi, who pelted the Fire Dragon in the chest with a Hydro Pump. Lombadra flew back and slammed his head into the wall.

_(Ouch, don't tell me you didn't see that coming?) _Firestorm muttered.

"Well, I see that you've somehow managed to stumble upon our secret headquarters." Raguragi grunted with an annoyed look on his face. "That's the last mistake you'll ever make!"

Two Zangoose and a Manectric burst out from doors behind the Legendary Dragons' backs. Both immediately took the full blunt of the Manectric's Thunderbolt attacks, shocking them into a daze.

The Zangoose duo moved in and landed several slashes in succession before either could react. Bahamut managed to catch a Zangoose's claw and hurled him into his companions, knocking all three down.

Roars and grunts sounded from further down the corridor, indicating that there were more troops on the way. Telling which side they belonged to however, was another story entirely.

Raguragi pounced and Lombadra knocked him aside. A dinosaur-like Marowak stepped onto the scene too, sending his Bonemerang spinning into Lombadra's chest.

"We're gonna be boxed in at this rate!" Lombadra hissed as he stood back to back with Bahamut.

"No, I think we should run straight towards the dragons troops." Bahamut breathed.

"What? Are you insane?"

_(No, I think he's actually right.) _Kris pointed out. _(The dragons in this region are at war with the Pokemon. So if we lead the dragons to Raguragi's gang…)_

_(They'll start fighting, and then we could slip out in the chaos!) _Jade realized.

"Wadda say?" Bahamut grinned.

"On three." Lombadra nodded.

"Three!" The two dragons somersaulted over Raguragi's troops and made a beeline around the corridor…right into the path of the approaching dragon troops.

"Dragon Breath!"

"Flamethrower!"

Bahamut and Lombadra launched their respective breath attacks, blowing the first line of dragons over. Simultaneously, they turned and dashed back towards Raguragi's position.

"There's nowhere to run you fools." The Pokemon commander shouted as the pair approached. There were suddenly a lot more Pokemon, practically filling up the entire corridor behind him.

The dragon troops choose this moment to arrive and got into position, bringing their weapons up. Bahamut and Lombadra tensed to make their escape, but after a few moments, they realized that none of the troops were moving.

In fact, every gun, fang, claw or tail was trained on the two of them.

* * *

"What the hell?" Bahamut cured. "What's going on here?"

"Haha, you just haven't figured it out, have you?" Raguragi threw his head back and laughed. "Hey Citraz, that was a nice going! They never even suspected a thing."

"Told you my squad could handle it boss." Citraz stepped in front of the crowd of dragons.

He was different from the rest, a green scaled dragon that could almost be mistaken for a cross between a human and a Flygon. He had the same fin-like structures on his head and eyes that were large and bright red. His leathery wings were built into his arm structure, and were currently folded up, but took form as sort of a blade at his elbows.

His hands were three-fingered claws, as well as his feet. The tail too had a red scaled, fan-like structure that split into three 'diamonds'.

Citraz was a Gale Dragon, with Wind or Flying elemental properties. The green drake twirled a pair of guns in his hands before slotting them into holsters on either side of his waist.

"Dammit! They're all in this together!" Lombadra realized.

"And you were wondering why we had a base right in the middle of Dragon territory?" Raguragi gave them a dark look. "We've been behind this whole war from the start, all from right here within this building! Since that damned fool who calls himself the Prophet led you here, I decided that it was necessary to prepare a little surprise, just in case."

Bahamut and Lombadra glared from the Swampert to each other. There was absolutely nowhere to go, no where to run.

"Take them!"

On Raguragi's orders, Citraz and Bashaamo jumped forward, each stabbing a stun-rod into their foes' chests. The Legendary Steel and Fire Dragons roared in agony as they were shocked into unconsciousness.

Raguragi waved an arm and the mixed group of troops begun dragging the dragon's limp bodies away.

"The Prophet's agent could still be within the vicinity." Citraz came up to Raguragi. "Permission to conduct a full sweep of the grounds."

"Granted. Go and make sure that they don't interfere with our plans."

Citraz snapped to attention and saluted before leaving. Raguragi than noticed Bashaamo and walked over to her.

"As for you…"

SLAP!

The sudden sound echoed throughout the corridor, causing all the troops to hasten their departure.

"I'm disappointed in you. Not only did you fail miserably in the Charizard's Valley, but you also led the Fire Dragon right into the teleporter. What do you think we're paying you for anyway?"

Bashaamo returned the gestured with a cold stare, but said nothing.

"Now, go and get that young human girl ready for the sacrifice." Raguragi ordered as he stomped off. "And don't mess this one up. You won't like the Master when he's in a bad mood."

The Blaziken pulled herself to her full height and clenched her fists, the flames glowing fiercely around them.


	22. Arena of Anger

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Arena of Anger**

By nightdragon0

"This is what you've been searching for?" Alken wondered.

"Hmmm…smell a lot of ash and lava around here." Abetos remarked.

"It's a volcanic mountain. Skiar seems to have been leading us here all this time."

The human and Houndoom pair paused to rest by the trail leading up the dark colored mountain. The group's journey through the Dragon inhabited Kanto region had been aided greatly by the presence of Skiar, who could more easily blend in while they were in his dragon form.

At other times, Alken and Abetos spent the trip hiding in cargo holds of trains and ships, keeping to the shadows and out of sight. It was almost like their old life again, hiding away from Team Rocket after defecting.

In their old life, and old world. But this place was completely different, Alken reminded himself once again. And this was the missions they'd taken upon themselves, helping Skiar find what he was searching for.

The Dark Elemental Dragon had remained silent as always, leaving only images and emotions to guide their path. And those clues had taken them up this old, volcanic mountain, which was located on this realm's Cinnabar Islands.

"Hmmm?" Alken felt a familiar tingle. "What is it Skiar?"

The gun strapped by his hip was vibrating in response to Skiar's senses.

"Skiar getting excited?" Abetos queried.

"Yeah, and it's pretty strong too." Alken noted, glancing around the area. A few trees lined the dirt path of soil and ash, but otherwise, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the naked eye.

Acting on Skiar's instincts however, Alken walked over to one of the trees and felt around its base. He felt a moment of faint and blinked as he was drawn into another of Skiar's visions.

Once again, Alken watched through the Legendary Dragon's eyes as Skiar walked up a path…to the very location he was standing on.

The area however, looked quite different. There was greenery all around, along with dozens of trees lining a well maintained dirt trail.

"This is the place, isn't it?" A female voice asked.

Skiar turned and a smaller dragon walked into view. She was almost a carbon copy of Skiar, black-scaled with silver claws, horns and talons. Her tail was a short stub however, and she had two pairs of leathery red wings.

She didn't have Skiar's mask either, but wore a bandana over her horns. Alken realized that she had clear, blue and beautiful eyes too.

"Your younger brother's instincts are never wrong." Another dragon, a male, entered the scene. He looked similar to the female, only that he was taller and more muscular built.

He wore a red scarf around his neck and had a belt strapped across his waist.

"It's here brother." Skiar whispered. "I know it!"

Skiar's claws touched something which caused the ground to split open beneath their feet, sending the trio plummeting into the darkness of a hole.

Alken involuntarily let off a scream…only to realize that he was out of the vision…and falling for real.

* * *

The building's corridors were dark and deserted, as was expected for a time well past midnight. These were the high security hallways of the bank, enforced steel walls, laser tripwires lining the floor and cameras rotating on the ceiling.

It would seem like a near-impossible task to get through undetected, but in one of the hallways, the metal grills of an air-vent moved. With no more than a click, Juncan removed the grills from his position on the wall and stashed it inside the air vent, where the grills wouldn't get in his way.

The Grovyle had an infrared visor on, along with a waist pouch of tools by his sides. From this pouch, he drew a rectangular device and aimed it at the single security camera viewing the hallway.

An electrical fizzle sounded as the device shut down for the moment.

Taking a quick scan of the area, Juncan concluded that it was clear enough and took note of a steel pipe running along the ceiling. One that was well above the laser tripwires lining the floor.

"This is where you come in handy." He smirked, bring up the Ankh that contained Asiyu's spirit. There was a slight pause, but soon the Ankh glowed and covered the length of the pipe with ice.

With his superior jumping abilities, Juncan leapt up and wrapped his arms and legs around the pipe. The force of his motion allowed him to slide down the pipe, right to the end of the room, where the camera was located.

In the midst of his slide, Juncan brought up a rope with a clip and snapped it around the pipe. The other end was connected to his belt and Juncan released his hold on the pipe. The rope held his weight as the Grovyle lowered himself, inverted, to a number pad positioned just beneath the camera.

Hastily, Juncan keyed in the code he'd received from the bank manager earlier. The number panel beeped as it accepted the code.

However, the effects of Juncan's jamming device wore off and the camera came back online…only to be shut down immediately by the deactivation code. The tripwires shit themselves off too and the adjacent door lock opened with a satisfying click.

"Perfect." Juncan released the rope and dropped to the ground, now that it was safe. "You know? If I'd known that I'd have you along for the ride, I wouldn't have bothered to make so many preparations."

_(Grrrr….I'm…not doing this!) _Asiyu's voice grunted.

"I'm afraid you ain't got a choice in this princess." Juncan raised the Ankh and pressed it against the lock. "Not while I have the power of my crystal to counter yours!"

Juncan brought up the green colored spirit crystal he possessed, with its Grass Elemental energy pulsing within. The energy flowed over the Ankh, which responded by glowing in an icy blue.

A small wave of ice then froze the door lock, which Juncan snapped off and triumphantly pushed the door open with one hand.

_(That crystal…doesn't belong to you!) _Asiyu hissed fiercely.

"You said that with so much passion, it's really touching." Juncan remarked, chewing the twig in his jaws. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you knew the old fool who owned this crystal before me."

_(Don't you dare talk about Grix that way!)_

"So that's his name? The Legendary Grass Dragon? Or the former one I should say."

_(SHUT UP!) _

"Oh, I get it! You liked him didn't you?" Juncan snapped his fingers.

_(Grrrrarrrggghhhh!) _Asiyu roared in rage.

"Oops, guess I hit a sensitive spot." Juncan shrugged. "I'm a bit of a romantic myself, but I always suspected something after the first time we fought. Remember when we butted heads and felt the energy shocks from each other?"

_(I…) _

"Ah well, we can always talk about this later." Juncan had completed his stride across the empty hallway beyond the door and stopped in front of a large vault. The thick metal door was shut tight of course, with a circular handle protruding from the door.

The Grovyle grunted as he took hold of the handle and turned the device until the door swung outwards.

"Gotta love it when money comes cheap." He laughed, eyeing the rows of lockers with glee. Within each one was a large sack of cash, which Juncan helped himself too.

While tossing the bags out of the room, he noticed something strange at the back and curiously moved to investigate. Nestled in the rear was circular transparent case, with a single glittering object inside.

It was a crystal…a Spirit Crystal.

"Another one." Juncan muttered, focusing his mind on his Grass crystal. "Hmmm…this one has the Bug-type properties. Wouldn't hurt to get my claws on this baby!"

He was about to step forward when the humming of lasers caught his ear. Juncan mentally slapped himself for nearly failing to notice the set of laser tripwires surrounding the case.

It caused him to frown too, because the security code he'd been given should've shut down all the systems in the bank. However, it seemed like the safety mechanics for this particular area operated independently of the main system.

"Hmmm…" Juncan glanced around the room, then grinned. He'd noticed an air vent positioned on the ceiling, directly above the glass case. "This'll be a snap."

* * *

"GGarrgghhh!" Alken braced his arms and legs against the walls in an attempt to slow his fall. While it did some good, it also hurt his hands terribly from grabbing the tunnel's rocky walls.

Suddenly, he ploughed into another body, ending with both entangled in a messy heap. It was Abetos, who had fallen as well.

The Houndoom had managed to find a narrow ledge, but the combined weight of the two snapped it in half, setting their fall in motion once again.

"The ground's approaching!" Abetos warned.

"Push off me, hurry!" Alken ordered.

The pair kicked off each other's bodies and bounded to opposite sides of the tunnel, using the motion to upright themselves. With their positions in order, the two managed to land with hard thumps on the ground. It wasn't the most graceful landing, but certainly better than being splattered across the floor.

Alken pulled out a flare and ignited it, the lights piercing the absolute darkness of the underground cavern.

He had fresh, bleeding cuts all over his hands, but Alken had suffered no serious injuries. Abetos had managed to escape with just a gash at his left side, probably caused by hitting the ledge earlier.

"You all right?" Abetos called.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alken acknowledged, moving his light around. "Whoa! What the? What is this?"

"Something there?"

"Bones…" Alken stared.

The cavern floor was littered with dozens of bones from various Pokemon and Dragon species, all in various stages of decomposition. The two were quick in moving away from that area, though Alken kept making occasional glances back.

"That could've been us." Abetos said numbly. "Nice work back in that tunnel."

"Thanks."

"Hey, that wasn't a compliment!" Abetos growled, suddenly feeling rather annoyed. "You were the one who knocked me off that ledge!"

"What?" Alken blurted out.

"Why? Forgotten already?"

"Of course not! But did you think I had any choice in the matter?"

"You could've gotten us killed!"

"I'd like to see you do better!" Alken snapped, one hand instinctively on his gun.

"Is this the way you treat the fellow who's saved your life more than once?" Abetos barked, jumping into an attacking stance.

"I wouldn't draw a weapon on my partner, but you're acting weird."

"Me? You're the one who's off your rocker!"

Alken shifted his position and stumbled, dropping the flare into a crack. The light went out, plunging the cavern into darkness.

"Damn it! The light!" Alken cursed.

"What? Doesn't affect me now does it?" Abetos retorted.

"Something you're trying to imply?"

"Yeah, light doesn't matter to me! And it's because of you! I was saving your life when this happened to my eyes!"

"I never asked you to do that in the first place." Alken said angrily.

The two remained poised there, instincts tense and ready to react on the slightest movement. Neither had to wait long however, as Alken's gunshot broke the silence in a loud burst. The brief flash of light was enough to reveal Abetos in mid-lunge, who clasped his jaws onto Alken's left hand.

Screaming in fury, Alken bashed the Houndoom's head with the butt of the gun. Abetos spun to the side, and was thrown off his feet by an explosive burst from the weapon. Alken tried to follow up with more attacks, but Abetos alternated left and right dodges and slammed into his partner.

The gun containing Skiar's Spirit Crystal clattered over to the side as Abetos thrust his head forward. Alken knew his companion well however, and moved out of the way, grabbing the hound's head under his arm.

The two rolled across the floor, struggling and pounding on one another. As they two fought however, strange flashes of light shrouded them. The forms of the human and Houndoom flickered, revealing them as the two dragons from Skiar's vision earlier…his older brother and sister.

* * *

Securing himself to the harness, Juncan clipped the other end of the ropes to the metallic grills of the air vent. After testing the ropes for stability, Juncan was satisfied and took hold of the mechanized pulley that would be lowering him from the ceiling to the glass case.

Finding his way to the air vent had been no problem with the maps he'd gotten. And as he stood, glancing down on his target from the ceiling, Juncan decided that he would be doing this in style.

In a true, tactical espionage move, the Grovyle dropped upside down, releasing the rope until he was hanging just above the glass case. It was a similar maneuver to the one he'd used earlier, except that this one would not be so much of a walkover.

Firstly, Juncan brought up a scanner and allowed it to analyze the case.

"Hmm….alarms linked to opening the case." He muttered. "Piece of cake."

Juncan used the jamming device from before to short out the electrical systems for the moment, and quickly got to work on cutting through the glass. It was surprisingly thin and the leaf blades on his forearms were enough to get the job done.

With a neat, circular hole in place, Juncan stashed the glass section he'd cut out in his belt pouch and searched for another piece of equipment.

"Darn, where did I put those tweezers?" He muttered. "Crap, I must've left them in the air vent when I pulled the screws out."

"What does it look like?"

"Oh, it's like any other pair of tweezers, but with a long handle." Juncan sighed.

"They're right here. You want me to toss em' down?"

"Sure!"

"Catch!"

There was a glimmer as the metallic tweezers fell from the ceiling and nicely into Juncan's outstretched claws.

"Hey thanks!" Juncan called. "I really appreciate the….urk….WHAT?"

He'd been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't realized someone had been talking to him. And that someone was Gwyenvere the Suicune, who was happily waving a paw to him.

"You're welcome." Gwyen smirked.

_(Gwyen!) _Asiyu's voice gasped.

"What the hell? How did you get out? What are you doing here? How'd you get in?" Juncan blurted out in shock.

"Oh, it's easy enough to follow your trail when you shut down all the security systems in your path and leave them off." Gwyen laughed. "And besides that…"

"Wargh!" Juncan was jerked roughly and realized that Gwyen had taken hold of the other end of his rope. He flailed his arms about wildly as Gwyen swung him about, barely managing to avoid crashing into the glass case.

One of his scanners dropped to the ground, where it was cut in half by the lasers near the ground.

"Aw crap! Those aren't tripwires! They're laser beams!" The Grovyle realized in horror.

"Now this is fun!" Gwyen faked a laugh. "I've never had a chance to play with a Grovyle yo-yo before."

"GGAARRRGHHH!" Juncan had to pull his entire body to the left this time to avoid hitting the case.

He was hit by a second shock when Gwyen dropped his body closer to the laser beams. Screeching, Juncan clamped a claw over the leaf blade on his head to prevent it from being charred by the lasers.

"Whoa! Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Juncan yelled in panic.

"Having fun." Gwyen dropped him even lower this time, till his head was just inches above the deadly lasers.

"Harrghhh! Stop! Cut it out!"

* * *

"What's going on? Why are we fighting?" Skiar called out in pain.

"Shut up!" His brother spun and thrust a fist into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Dropping back to the ground, Skiar let out a roar of anguish whilst clutching his bleeding right side. His brother and sister were caught up in a frenzied struggle, pounding each other against the cavern walls.

Blood dripped down from his brother's face as he got up and smacked his sister across the snout. Snarling, she fought back, jabbing her razor-sharp claws into his chest.

"Rargghhh…gargghh…." Skiar moaned in pain, lying helpless to stop the fight.

His siblings were so caught up in their struggle that they failed to notice the shallow pit they were dragging each other towards. But as shallow as it was, the bottom was lined by rows of deadly stone spikes.

The two were completely oblivious to it, but it seemed almost as if some force was deliberately dragging them towards it.

"NO!" Skiar screamed. "NO! Stop! Please!"

The roars only grew louder as the sibling struggle continued.

_(SSSSTTTTTOOOOOPPPP!) _

And all of a sudden, Skiar was back in reality. But in this world, he existed in a spirit-like form, his translucent body hovering over the gun that held his Spirit Crystal.

Alken and Abetos had hesitated, though the latter still had his jaws clasped around his partner's right arm. Neither was too sure why the other one, or even himself had stopped, but it was most likely out of shock from hearing Skiar's voice.

A voice that he had finally been able to find.

_(This dragon knows the aura here is tainted with evil.) _Skiar voiced out, clenching a fist. _(It's a force tainted with anger, negativity…emotions that cloud your thoughts.)_

Alken and Abetos were still struggling, though their more violent movements seemed to have calmed down.

_(This dragon understands all you have spoken. You are comrades…ones whose bonds have been formed through times….encounters…battles…both good and bad.) _Skiar whispered. _(This place you stand in now, brings out the bad to an extreme degree! But think! Remember! True companionship…true partners…can never be torn apart by this darkness!) _

Alken seemed to be slowly snapping out of his trance. He was blinking, remembering the times he'd spent…the times in the dark, underground dens of Team Rocket. The place where he'd first picked out Abetos as his partner.

_(Two others came to this forbidden place with this dragon once…and the one who stands before you now is the only one who left. This dragon was too weak then…this dragon knew not then, and this dragon lost…lost himself in the lust of darkness.)_

Most Team Rocket Pokemon were treated like slaves, but the Abetos was always different. Alken himself, had always treated him differently. Alken knew he'd made a bad decision with his life, but it was through this that he'd met Abetos.

And from there the first bonds were formed, as subtle as they may have been.

_(This dragon fell into the trap, and thus proceeded his reign of terror. Thus, he wishes not for this fate upon his other halves!) _

The pair had been growing more and more relaxed, and finally, released each other. Alken slumped back, clutching his bleeding arm in pain. Abetos immediately strode over and licked the wound.

"I'm sorry…" Abetos whispered. "I…I…just…"

"No, it was my fault too." Alken cradled his head. "I couldn't fight it either."

"Then…"

"Let it slide…for both of us…"

"Alken…"

"We're partners, aren't we?" Alken nodded. "Through thick and thin."

"Yeah…partners…" Abetos acknowledged.

_(This dragon feels glad.) _Skiar's image let off a grin.

"Thank you." Alken looked up. "Although it is a bit of a surprise to finally hear you talk."

"But something puzzles me." Abetos added in. "If you knew what kind of place was down here, why did you bring us here?"

_(It was perhaps for a selfish reason that this dragon did so.) _Skiar replied. _(This place was where his brother and sister were lost. They, who killed each other in rage…just as you might have. But this dragon lived with the painful knowledge…and died with it…) _

"So that's it…" Abetos gasped. "What you wanted to do….was face your fears."

_(You now see it as this dragon does. This dragon became the merciless slayer for Kaiser…and he wished to relief himself of that darkness.) _

"All of us share the same burden." Alken stood up. "Each of us are dark elements, but we don't dwell within it. Instead, we walk the narrow path between light and darkness. And that makes us who we are."

_(You surprise this dragon with your insight.) _

Suddenly, a ferocious roar pierced the cavern. Two glowing forms stumbled towards them…two dragons with their fangs baring and claws raised.

They were the forms of Skiar's brother and sister.

* * *

"You're not the one to be making demands when I've got the other end of your leash." Gwyen gave him a good shaking. "Now, hand Asiyu over."

"No way! I'm not…urrghh!" Juncan started as Gwyen pulled him up slightly before dropping him again.

"Want me to get you sliced vertically or horizontally?"

"OK! OK! Here!" Juncan tossed Asiyu's ankh upwards, which Gwyen caught in her free paw.

_(Boy am I glad to see you!) _Asiyu sent the Suicune a private message.

"Same here." Gwyen whispered.

"Now, could you pull me up?" Juncan pleaded. "Please?"

"Well, I don't know…" Gwyen laughed. "I believe I should ask for that Spirit Crystal that's down there too."

"Hey, this one you ain't getting sister!" Juncan warned. "Because if you drop me, you won't have a way to get it!"

"True, but…" Gwyen paused for a moment. "If I can't have it, then I might as well drop you anyway."

"WHAT? NO! Please don't!"

"Hey Asiyu, think I should drop him?"

_(No!) _Asiyu protested.

"She thinks I should drop you too." Gwyen smirked. "So…"

"All right! I get it! Just hold me still for a while." Juncan snapped. "Just make sure you pull me up after this!"

"Oh, fine, fine."

Positioning himself, Juncan reached down with the tweezers and nimbly plucked the Spirit Crystal out of the display case.

"Come on! I kept my end of the bargain!"

"I'm going to regret this." Gwyen said under her breath as she tugged.

Juncan held still and Gwyen brought him closer and closer to the air vent, but the Grovyle suddenly kicked off the wall and lunged at her. Gwyen instinctively jerked back and swung a paw, catching Juncan in the face.

And because she had also released her hold on the rope, Juncan fell….and smashed the glass case into pieces. His jamming device had long since worn off, and hence alarms begun blaring, piercing the silence of the night like a knife.

"Uh oh!" Gwyen muttered. "I think it's time for us to go!"

_(I agree with that.) _Asiyu voiced out. _(But the Spirit Crystal_…

"There's no time!" The Suicune took one last moment for a glance, then ducked back into the air vent.

"Crap! This is so screwed!" Juncan got to his feet unsteadily on the pedestal, and made a leapt of faith. Fortunately, it managed to get him over the lasers and close to the door.

Slipping the Spirit Crystal into his belt, Juncan grabbed as many bags of money as he could, but was quickly distracted by something else…the huge door of the vault swinging shut.

"NNNOO!" Dropping the bags and sprinting, Juncan barely made it through the door before it sealed itself shut.

However, the corridor he'd emerged into also had its doors swinging close…and they slammed right in front of the screeching Grovyle's face.

* * *

"Skiar…" Alken whispered, snatching the gun up.

_(Fear not, for this dragon realizes what he must do.) _Skiar said firmly. _(The shadows of the past still seek to drag us into their midst! Unite, and they shall be defeated!) _

"Ha! Now you're taking!" Abetos growled, spraying out with his Flamethrower attack.

The two dragons hesitated as the flames formed a blazing wall before them. However, Alken and Abetos jumped right over it and attacked. Alken pelted the male's feet with gunshots whilst Abetos opened his mouth and hurled a dark ball of energy, Shadow Ball, at the female's body.

The dark forms roared in pain and struck back, smashing up rocks on the ground that flew and struck their opponents. Nodding to each other, Alken raised his weapon as Abetos landed by his side.

"Hoero! Dragon Meld!" (Roar! Dragon Meld!)

The next figure that somersaulted and landed in a battle stance was Skiar's. The black, humanoid dragon's scales were built like armor, as were the white, five-fingered claws that he was clenching. Gray shoulder pads, knee pads and arm guards all added to his muscular body's protection.

His tail was short compared to other dragons, and his two pairs of red, leathery wings were in tatters, but he flexed them as a sign of battle.

The featureless gray mask that had been molded over his head was Skiar's most prominent feature, covering the entire face above the jaw, but leaving space for the two horns on his head.

Wasting no time, Skiar charged in a Faint Attack and knocked his brother's likeness aside. His sister came at him with a frenzy of slashes, several of which caught him on the left arm.

With a snarl, Skiar jumped back and made a series of Ninja-like hand motions. Utilizing Double Team, his form split into multiple images of himself. His two opponents attacked blindly, hitting nothing more than shadows.

The real Skiar moved in from the side and drove a Shadow Punch into the female's face. The male grabbed him from behind, holding his powerful arms around Skiar's neck.

The Legendary Dragon begun to choke, but suddenly thrust his elbows backwards and knocked his foe off him. The shadowy formers tumbled back into a pile as Skiar prepared for his finishing attack.

"Dusk Requiem!" Skiar roared as he slammed his claws into the ground.

A wave of dark energy spread out from each point and ploughed through the former dragons, shattering their forms into pieces.

Leaning against the wall in exhaustion, Skiar stood panting for a while. Then, he began to laugh. Alken and Abetos laughed with him too.

"This dragon thanks you, for seeing his past through."

_(It was a look into our past too.) _Alken spoke up.

_(So, I wouldn't say it was for such a selfish reason after all.) _Abetos agreed.

_(But now…)_

"Indeed, you have helped this dragon greatly." Skiar nodded. "Now it is his turn to do that favor, and thus, he will help you find the others like you."

_(How then?) _Abetos wondered. _(We're probably miles away from any of them.) _

"This cave holds many powers, thus he must only concentrate to see."

_(Concentrate to see?) _Alken wondered.

Unconsciously, he was doing just that and a vision sprang into his mind.

_(Nala!) _Alken gasped. _(She's…in trouble…) _

_(You saw her?) _Abetos queried.

_(More like felt, but yes I did. Where however…I can't seem to see it clearly.) _

"This dragon will seek out a linkpoint." Skiar started to climb out of the dark cavern. "And then…your instincts will guide you."

* * *

"All clear." Hazuki peered through the door before pushing it open fully.

Kioi moved in front of her and grunted, indicating for Hazuki to follow him. The blue-haired girl took one last look around the messy office, whose window they'd climbed in through, then followed.

Together, they walked along a metallic corridor that formed the second floor. Beneath it, the large open area of the factory's first level was visible. Various kinds of machinery lined every nook and cranny of the level, leaving Hazuki to wonder how the workers got around the place.

Kioi seemed to know where he was going and Hazuki followed him down the stairs leading to the lower level.

"Just what are we looking for?" Hazuki asked. "There's so much machinery around here, where could they be holding a Legendary Dragon?"

Kioi responded with a series of grunts which were impossible to decipher. Hazuki simply gave up and followed the Fighting-type dragon through the maze. It took him a while, but Kioi eventually led her to a large machine in the corner.

"Hm?" Hazuki studied the control panel that had been mounted to the wall.

Beyond the panel was an indented section of the floor, a pit surrounded by railings and 'decorated' with 'Danger! Keep Out!' signs. Within the isolated section were two square-shaped 'doors' in the floor, each one about 12 feet length.

Kioi was staring at the wall with a confused gaze and Hazuki walked to his side.

"Need some help?"

Nodding, the dragon made a 'blinking' gesture with his hands. It took Hazuki a while to guess that he was talking about the power supply and she flipped the appropriate switch into its 'on' position. Immediately, a soft humming sounded as the panel came to life.

Hazuki scanned through the unfamiliar controls and scratched her head.

"Containment unit 1, sealed and frozen." She read. "Containment unit 2, standing-by. So, is this where you think they're holding that other Legendary Dragon?"

With a grim look on his face, Kioi nodded.

"All right, let me see." Hazuki muttered. "Raise containment units? Ok, I'll try that.

Pushing the buttons brought up more mechanical hums and creaks as the trapdoors swung open. Slowly, two square glass tanks rose from their positions beneath the surface.

Hazuki thought she was shivering with fear and shook herself off. However, she soon realized that she had been shaking because it was cold. She was hit by a blast of icy cold air and glanced towards the glass tanks in surprise.

One of the tanks was empty, with only the glass walls of the tank covered with frost. The other one contained a huge ice cube, but what was more interesting was that there was something frozen within the ice.

Or someone…a brown-scaled dragon with three heads that almost resembled a hydra.

Hazuki glanced down at the new set of readings that had appeared and realized that they were the dragon's vital signs. The frozen dragon was still alive, just being kept in a state of suspended animation within its icy prison.

Simply glancing at the three-headed dragon made her shudder. That was something about it that seemed so familiar to Hazuki.

Then, she realized that Kioi was no longer with her. Initial panic swept through her mind, but Hazuki quickly calmed down when she spotted the Fighting-type standing around the corner.

"Hey, so there you are." Hazuki gasped. "I was worried that…"

Stepping up to his side, Hazuki stopped short and stared. Mounted on the machine before them was another dragon incased in ice, followed by a sealing layer of glass and metallic components.

This dragon was a smaller, 'plump' lizard-like dragon that looked like it walked on all fours. Its scales were bright and blue like the color of water. There was also a sail-like fin along its back.

Kioi was staring, long and hard at this dragon. Hazuki racked her brain and suddenly came up with the answer.

"That's Issui, isn't it?" Hazuki gasped. "The former Legendary Water Dragon?"

Turning towards her, Kioi had tears streaming up in his eyes. Several dripped down his face and landed with soft plops on the floor. Hazuki mentally slapped herself for forgetting one important detail…that Issui was Kioi's lover.

She was searching her mind for something to say when she noticed the same screen at the bottom of Issui's icy prison. While the machine had given the vital readings from the other dragon, those of Issui were literally flat and silent.

_Issui's dead, and Kioi had probably seen the whole thing…all this being done to her body. That must've been how he knew about the place, and the machine. _Hazuki closed her eyes.

There was a soft sobbing and Kioi dropped to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. He was not even holding back the tears that hit the ground as he let off a long, mournful wail.

"I'm sorry…" Was all Hazuki could manage as she put her arms around his shoulders. "I'm so sorry…"


	23. Fighting Heart

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Fighting Heart**

By nightdragon0

The frustration was really getting to Bahamut's head. He'd finally gotten his two partners back together to get him out of his cramped sword form, and now he couldn't move again.

He'd come to and found himself being carried on the shoulders of a Nidoking like a sack of potatoes. Bahamut's jaws had been muzzled shut and he wasn't able to move anything below his neck.

It had utterly panicked him at first, but he soon realized that it probably had something to do with the strange collar strapped around his neck. Lombadra was being carried nearby, with an equally furious look on his face.

_They set up us. _Bahamut thought unhappily. _Raguragi's group was hiding in here all this time…and working together with some of the Dragon troops._

The Steel Dragon gritted his fangs as best as he could.

_Damn, we must've looked like a couple of fools pulling a stunt like that!_

The Nidoking winded through the building's featureless corridors and eventually arrived at the doors of a dark prison cell. Without breaking their silence, the guards un-muzzled the two and chucked them into the cell.

Bahamut's first reaction was to snarl abuses at the guards, who simply ignored it and slammed the door shut, plunging the room into darkness.

"Grrr…get your butt out of my face metal-head!" Lombadra hissed.

Bahamut was lying facedown and felt a heavy weight, probably Lombadra's body, on his back and lower body.

"Well, I can't move my body right now, so deal with it flame-face!"

"Wonderful! And it's all just because they stuck these stupid collars round our necks! What are these thing made of anyway?"

"Hell if I know. But I find it interesting that we've both reached the same conclusion about the collars."

"Oh shut up wise guy. And we should try separating." Lombadra suggested. "The humans and Pokemon and smaller than us, and the collars will fall right off!"

"Wait, don't…."

"Rarrrggghh!" Lombadra roared as his collar sent a strong electrical surge through his body.

"Don't you think I've already tried that?" Bahamut growled. "Kris! Nightslice! Hey, can you two hear me?"

"Jade and Firestorm aren't answering either." Lombadra spoke up. "But I can still feel them in the back of my mind, just that they're unconscious.

"Humph, lucky them."

All that had taken place hours ago and the two had been left lying, immobilized, in the darkness. Neither one knew exactly how much time had passed, but the certain thing was that both were getting very edgy.

"How long are you gonna leave us like this!" Lombadra screamed at the walls. "Hey! Someone answer me!"

"Quit shouting moron, you're gonna break my ear drums." Bahamut snapped. "On the other hand, being stuck next to you is already enough to do that!"

"Well I don't see you trying anything block-head!"

"Oh yeah, I'll just try to undo the lock with my tongue…if I could crank my neck enough to reach these blasted collars!"

"Hey! Whoever's out there?" Lombadra yelled. "If you're not trying to starve us to death, then get us something to eat!"

"Like that's gonna work." Bahamut sighed.

Much to his surprise however, someone threw the door open, sending so much light streaming in that the pair had to squint. Neither one could make out the shape that stood in the doorway, but it was a quadruped figure flipped both of them over and shoved a loaf of bread in each of their mouths. And just as abruptly, the figure shut the door and vanished.

The bread was a little stale, but the two eagerly scoffed the loaves down.

"It actually worked." Lombadra muttered once they were done.

"Not only that, but I think we're in a better position too." Bahamut added in. "If I can reach you, I should be able to chew your collar off."

"You think so? Great, let's try it then!"

"Oh I wouldn't want to do that. Not using the proper keys to remove the collars will unfortunately result in a large bang."

"What was that?" Lombadra asked.

"Hey, that wasn't me." Bahamut replied.

"Then…"

"Hey boys." A sparkle of yellow energy flickered in the dark room, lighting it up just enough for them to make out the source of the voice.

"Myollnir!" The Steel and Fire Dragons gasped.

* * *

"Now, look who we have here."

"Finally, we've caught up with you."

"Oh no!" Hazuki gasped. "Not them again!"

Sano and Uno were leaning against the railings of the second floor balcony, clapping their front paws.

"What a show." The former, a steel type Aggron smirked.

"Yeah, sure wish I'd brought my video camera along." His Rhydon companion added in.

Growling fiercely, Kioi wiped his tears away and stepped in front of Hazuki, holding his arms out to protect her.

"You've got guts buddy, but you're outmatched!" The dinosaur pair jumped down to the lower level, causing the entire area to shake.

"Whoa!" Hazuki stumbled and scrambled to Kioi's side. "You can't take them on alone! You're too badly hurt!"

Kioi shook his head with a determined look. Even if he knew he was going to get beaten into the ground, he was going to try anyway.

Then, Hazuki noticed that Kioi was actually indicating at something. The hand he held up had its index finger pointing back towards the frozen three-headed dragon. Hazuki realized that he wanted her to free that dragon while he held their enemies off.

"Ok, but you have to come through this, all right?" She whispered.

Kioi grunted as if to say 'whatever' and lunged towards his foes with a savage roar.

Hazuki found herself ducking and dodging between the various pieces of machinery as the battle cries rang out. Unfortunately, they weren't in Kioi's favor. Despite that, she quickly reached the frozen display of the three headed dragon and glanced over its control panel.

"Oh…how does it work?" She frowned, trying some of the controls.

A yell of pain had her looking upwards as Kioi was sent flying into the air. The Fighting-type dragon bounded off a wall and shot right back into the battle.

Sano swung a huge paw as Kioi landed. The smaller dragon managed to roll beneath his fist and swung around to his opponent's back, sending a spinning kick that connected hard. Uno charged up from behind and rammed Kioi down with the large horn on his snout.

The Rhydon then grabbed Kioi's shoulders and dragged him along the ground before sending him sliding into a stack of crates. As the cloud of dust cleared, Kioi staggered to his feet, clearly gritting his teeth in pain.

"Hurry please." Hazuki pleaded as the large ice cube begun to defrost.

Water was dripping down the display platform at a steady pace, but it still didn't look fast enough. Kioi wasn't going to last much longer.

Hazuki vaulted over the railings and dashed across the pit. The fighting had thrown a metal pole down there and Hazuki retrieved it. A single swing was enough to break the glass case surrounding the ice cube, but it didn't seem to have much effect on the ice itself.

The shattering sounds went unnoticed amongst the roaring and smashing of machinery all around.

Looking up, Hazuki spotted Kioi being pounded into the wall and pulling himself off immediately after. It wasn't long before he was simply thrown against a gigantic metal cylinder, this time leaving the impression of his body in it.

"Oh on…." Hazuki spread her legs to properly balance herself and swung the metal pole again and again.

The blows created a series of cracks along the surface of the ice. Although those seemed insignificant, the shaking apparently stirred up something in the sleeping dragon.

One by one, all the brown eyes of the dragon opened. Startled, Hazuki backed away and tripped, hitting her head against the railing.

* * *

Yusia was jostled awake by an abrupt shaking. Rubbing her eyes, the young girl sat up in her cot and glanced around the cell. It seemed the same as always, dark and dingy as ever.

However, she just felt that something was different today.

Curiously, Yusia got out of bed and walked over to the iron door. It was much taller than her, but by putting a stool there, she was able to look out of its single window. Outside was an empty corridor however, causing her to frown.

There had been a fire-type Quilava guard there only moments ago.

A Blaziken's face suddenly appeared in the window, startling Yusia and sending her toppling off the stool.

"Ow! Ow!" She cried, rubbing her sore bottom.

The old door then creaked and swung open, revealing Bashaamo standing there with the key in her claws. The Blaziken was giving her that strange stare again and Yusia wasn't sure what to make of it until Bashaamo tossed her a brown cloak with a hood.

"Do you trust me?" Bashaamo asked.

Yusia paused for a long time, all the while looking up into her eyes. There was something strange in the Blaziken's eyes today.

The little girl was frightened too, for she knew these were the 'bad guys'. But for Bashaamo, she was always different. And now, the look in her eyes…

"Yes, I trust you." Yusia nodded.

"Then put that on and come with me if you want to live." Bashaamo waited until Yusia had pulled the hood up, then took hold of her hand and pulled her out of the cell.

"Hey boss, are you bringing the kid yourself?" A fowl-like Combusken appeared from around the corner.

Bashaamo hesitated for a second, letting go of Yusia's hand.

"Hm? Boss, what's…"

The fire-type never got to finish his sentence, for Bashaamo rushed across the corridor in the blink of an eye. She slammed a Blaze Kick into his face, knocking the utterly startled Combusken out cold. Bashaamo then shoved his limp body into Yusia's cell and locked the door.

"This is bad, we'll have to hurry." Bashaamo muttered.

Yusia let off an involuntarily yell as the Blaziken scooped her up in her arms and ran down the corridor with her.

"Those…weren't those your soldiers?" Yusia asked.

"More than just that." Bashaamo replied softly. "Family."

"Then why?"

The Blaziken didn't reply and just kept on running.

* * *

The eyes of its three heads glanced around, seemingly reacting in fury to the way they'd been frozen. Cracks begun rapidly appearing all over the ice block, and finally, part of it burst open. Only its three heads and its right shoulder were free, but the dragon let off a long moan that sounded like a mix of despair and anger.

"Huh? What was that?" Sano and Uno, distracted by the noise, left Kioi alone for a moment too long.

The Fighting-type Dragon suddenly came up swinging a long pole that slammed into both dino's heads and knocked them off their feet. He then ploughed into the pair in order to keep them away from the exchange between Hazuki and their new, three-headed companion.

"Guugghh….I feel so sick." The center of the three heads moaned. The left one groaned.

However, the right one just continued shaking itself and blinking as if to clear its vision.

"Wow…" Hazuki gasped, approaching the dragon. "Hey, can you hear me?"

"That voice!" The right head muttered. "Hazuki? Hazuki is that you?"

"Who?" Hazuki started. "How did you know my name?"

"Hey, it's me, Nala!"

"Nala?"

"This is our dragon form see?" Nala's voice hastily continued. "I'm the right head, Riot's the left one, and the center one is Erizar, our dragon."

"Amazing, I never expected that you'd be in a dragon like this!"

"We'll save that for later. Right now, we need to…"

CRASH!

"Good heavens, what on Earth is going on here?" Riot's head called. "Oh…my eyes! God, I can't see a thing!"

"Neither can I." Erizar spoke up. "Must be the hibernation sickness from being frozen."

"Can you help get us out?" Nala asked, directing her question to Hazuki.

"I'm trying as it is, but it's not going very well." Hazuki retrieved the pole and started pounding on the ice again.

"All right, let's help by giving it all we've got!" Erizar grunted. "RRaaarrrggghhh!"

The three heads desperately threshed about, trying to break free of their icy prison. Even though Erizar managed to break her right claw out, all she could do was uselessly wiggle it around.

"Not good." Erizar decided. "We'll have to melt the ice instead!"

"You'd better stand back Hazuki." Nala suggested.

Erizar's three heads gathered up their strength and sprayed their venomous breaths over the ice. Hazuki covered her face as the steam got to her, quickly scrambling to get out of the pit.

With a final burst of strength, Erizar spread her wings and tail, shattering the last of the ice. It had completely drained her however, leaving the dragon to collapse and revert into Nala and Riot's moaning forms.

"Guys!" Hazuki jumped down and shook them. "Are you all right?"

Neither one responded with anything other than groans. Hazuki was still pondering on what to do when Kioi abruptly landed in the pit next to theirs.

The dragon was too weak by this time to even climb out. As Hazuki watched in horror, Sano and Uno activated the controls for the empty pit, causing its glass case to descend into the concealed lower section….with Kioi still inside.

His howls of agony were eventually drowned out by the sounds of water and the hissing of machinery. In a matter of minutes, the sounds completely died off, leaving a new prison of ice to rise from the depths of the machine.

One that held Kioi frozen within.

"Nala! Riot! Wake up please!" Hazuki shook her companions frantically.

"Well, that was easy enough." Sano panted, dusting his claws.

"Yeah." His partner agreed. "So let's look for the other…huh?"

A strange mist was suddenly filling up the room. It was so rapid that Sano and Uno quickly disappeared from Hazuki's view. However, their annoyed yells and shouts easily gave their positions away.

"Hazuki, get them on me! Hurry!" Gwyen appeared out of the mist and jumped down to Hazuki's side.

"Just in time!" Hazuki gasped, shoving Nala's body and Riot's winged form onto the Suicune's back. "We have to get Kioi too!"

"There's no time! The Mist attack will clear out soon." Gwyen insisted.

"But…"

_(We can't save anybody if we can't save ourselves first!) _Asiyu's voice rang out. _(Plus I think we have more company on the way, and I don't think I have the strength left to fight!)_

Hazuki really wanted to speak out about how glad she was that Asiyu was safe. But her thoughts just kept going back to Kioi. It just wasn't right to leave him like this.

"No, we…" Hazuki shook her head. "Kioi!"

Without waiting for her to finish, Gwyen grabbed Hazuki by the collar and dragged her out of the building. The figure that emerged from the mist filled building was the Ice Dragon, Asiyu, who sprinted down the streets whilst carefully balancing Nala and Riot on her back.

"Gargh! Argh!" Sano coughed. "Hey, don't let them get away!"

"Grrr…I've got them!" Uno shouted.

"Ow! That's my foot your idiot!"

"Ugh, sorry!"

The two blinded dinos stumbled around, trying to make their way towards the main door.

"Hey, look there!" Uno pointed as a shadowy figure appeared in the doorway.

The figure seemed to be hesitating and the pair wasted no time in charging to stop him.

"No wait!" A familiar voice ordered.

WHAM!

The mist eventually cleared out to reveal a dazed Sano and Uno in a heap….along with a very battered Juncan lying at the bottom, furiously tapping his fingers on the ground.

"Eep…erm, hi boss." The dinos muttered nervously.

"I barely escaped from the bank's security systems, plus the cops and what do I find?" Juncan fumed. "This! This is pathetic! Just what do you have to say for yourselves?"

"Erm, we're sorry?" The pair cringed.

"I'm surrounded by morons!" The Grovyle's scream rang far out into the night.

* * *

"Guess it's true what they say." The Thunder Dragon laughed. "Never send a man to do a woman's job."

The humanoid female was covered in orange scales with yellow armor pieces like shoulder pads, arm pads and leg guards. Her head was reptilian like any dragon's, and had a golden mane behind going down to her shoulder level. Her entire face was covered in a jaggered, lightning bolt-shaped mask, which left the lower jaws untouched.

Myollnir had feathered wings much like a phoenix, except that they were golden and crackling with energy. The backs of her fists also had metallic pads, from which she was generating just enough electricity to light up the room. This revealed too the Kanji symbol for Thunder, ikazuchi, decorating each of her shoulder pads.

Her upper limbs ended in five-fingered claws, but her feet were much like a bird's, ending in three-toed talons instead. It was one of these talons that she pressed onto Bahamut's chest as they spoke.

"What are you doing here?" Bahamut demanded.

"I should be asking you the same question." Myollnir folded her arms. "See those collars jam the nerve impulses controlling your muscular systems, leaving you unable to move, but leaves the nervous system perfectly intact. And that's why you can feel this."

Myollnir pinched the exposed part of Bahamut's arm with her talons, causing the dragon to let off a yelp of surprise.

"We don't need the biology lesson Myollnir." Lombadra hissed. "Now, are you friend or foe?"

"I'm surprised you're asking me that Lombadra." Myollnir knelt by his face. "We did belong to the same side those thousand years ago."

"I'm talking about now, not back then."

"In that case, I can be whatever you want me to be." Myollnir smirked.

"That isn't answering anything." Lombadra was beginning to get impatient. "Grrr…hey!"

Myollnir calmly swung herself over and sat down on his chest, stroking the bottom of his chin with her claws. Both Bahamut and Lombadra stared up at her, unsure of how to react.

"Neither of you are exactly in the position to be making demands right now." Myollnir shifted her position, lying her back and wings down against Bahamut's stomach. "Since you can't exactly move your useless bodies right now."

"Hey, are you done in there?" A voice called from outside.

"You're fast Tanya. Took care of all the guards already?"

"They were no problem." The door creaked opened slightly, revealing the blue dragon head of a Salamence. "Here, this is what you need."

The quadruped dragon-type tossed a couple of keys onto the ground and was out of the room with a quick beat of her leathery red wings. Her long tail swished about and pushed the door close, although not all the way.

"Shame, I thought we'd have time to have a little fun first." Myollnir took hold of both keys. "Ah well there's work to be done. I'll let you know that a big show's about to take place, and guess what? You're both invited."

With that, she placed one key on each of their chests and stood up, strolling towards the door.

"Wait a minute, these are…" Bahamut turned his eyes down.

"The keys to unlock your collars of course."

"I'm assuming that you want us to follow you." Lombadra spoke up. "How about releasing us first?"

"No can do. It just wouldn't be fun if you didn't do the dirty work yourselves."

"Hey, how are we supposed to do that?" Lombadra protested.

"Your heads and necks can still more, can't they?" Myollnir smirked. "But don't worry, you'll be able to find me easily enough. Just use your heads."

Bahamut and Lombadra glared from the keys on their chests to Myollnir.

"Oh and keep your chins up too." She waved, slamming the door shut.

"Is it hot in here, or are you sweating more than usual?" Bahamut asked after a moment of silence.

"Shut up! And you're sweating too, so speak for yourself!" Lombadra snapped. "Now come on, take hold of the key in your jaws and we should be able to unlock each other."

"Provided we don't break our necks doing it." Bahamut muttered sorely.

"Oh, will you shut up and hope?"

* * *

"I couldn't help him." Hazuki sniffed, leaning against the wall of the truck.

"Don't think of it that way." Nala put an arm around her shoulder. "You saved our butts, remember?"

"Yes, but…he let himself…get…"

_(Kioi wouldn't have wanted to hear you talk this way.) _Asiyu cut in. _(Not after he sacrificed himself so that the rest of us could escape.) _

The only sounds after that were the grunting of the container truck's engine and the howling of the wind through gaps in the cargo hold's walls.

After fleeing Olivine in a hurry, the group had hitched a ride on a passing truck. The vehicle was headed towards a series of towns located close to the Johto and Kanto border. Any where was probably safer than staying in Olivine, especially with most of their energy drained and enemies hot on their heels.

Whatever sickness Erizar had suffered earlier was gone now that she'd separated into Nala and Riot. The latter two seemed fine, with only the sheer exhaustion of their experience to worry them.

"Um…" Hazuki finally nodded, breaking the silence. "You're right."

"We'll get them back for this." Nala clenched a fist. "And we'll rescue Kioi too. Somehow we will…"

"I'm worried about Yusia too." Hazuki buried her head in her hands. "I hope she's safe."

Although Nala didn't have an answer for that, she did her best to comfort her younger companion.

On the other side of the truck, Riot was lying atop a stack of crates. Erizar's gun form, hung up in Nala's holster, was swinging about close by.

"Seems that you were correct." Riot spoke softly. "The spring got my body fixed up after that horrendous incident I went through."

_(Think nothing of it.) _Erizar replied. _(But I guess it's my fault that we got turned into an ice cube after that.)_

"And you can thank me for getting you out!" Gwyen said cheerfully, jumping up and landing on Riot's back.

"Ugh…that was entirely uncalled for." The Aerodactyl grunted. "Well, I do suppose I owe you…"

"Well?" Gwyen prompted.

"Well what?"

"Go on and say it."

"Thanks…" Riot barked. "Bimbo."

"Say what?" Gwyen fumed. "Why you!"

"I still think it's true!"

"Grrr…it is not!"

"Rarrrgghh! Is to!"

"Is not!"

Nala and Hazuki both looked at each other and laughed.

* * *

"That sucked." Bahamut sighed dryly.

"You were the idiot who got so much drool over me!" Lombadra snapped.

"Speak for yourself! You couldn't even hit the broad side of a barn with your Flamethrower and a sniper scope!"

"What? You jabbed me in the eye with that blasted key! It's lucky I'm not blind or something right now!"

_(Hey, do you two realize that you've just walked out of a prison cell completely unopposed and are yelling at the top of your lungs?) _Kris' voice queried.

_(Yeah and in the middle of the enemy's base too.) _Jade added in.

"Hey, shut up blasted humans!" Bahamut roared. "If I wanted your opinions, I'd have asked for…huh?"

"Wait a minute, you guys are awake?" Lombadra gasped.

_(Well, we came to a little while after you got those collars off.) _Nightslice continued.

"And you never told us?" Bahamut snapped.

_(It was kinda amusing listening to your argument though.) _Firestorm finished. _(I guess, that's why…we sorta all kept quiet.) _

Bahamut and Lombadra stared at each other in silence.

"Let's not talk about that." The two dragons said simultaneously, reverting back into their partner's forms.

"Damn." Jade snapped his fingers. "They were about to get to the good part too. You know, the confessions of true…"

_(SHUT UP!) _

"All right, all right! I got the idea!" Jade waved his hands in the air. "Sheesh, can't you guys take a joke?"

"I see you got a sword to put Lombadra's Spirit Crystal in." Kris walked up and tapped the Kiazahoushi weapon strapped at Jade's back. "Quite a work of art."

_(What?) _Bahamut's voice sounded. _(Hey, he can't be in a better sword than me!)_

_(What's wrong? You jealous metal-head?) _Lombadra laughed. _(This sword I'm in owns yours anytime!) _

_(You…! Wanna make something of it?)_

_(Why not? I…) _

WHAM!

Kris and Jade thumped their respective weapons against the walls.

_(Hey, do you find it amusing physically abusing us while we're stuck like this?) _Bahamut demanded.

"Erm, how about getting back on the topic of the enemy base?" Nightslice sighed.

"Yes, sorry." Kris nodded. "But it's like we were all wondering. They lock us up and leave us unguarded?"

"Unless Myollnir and company have something to do with it." Firestorm suggested. "According to Lombadra that is."

"Well, I wouldn't put it past her."

"Hey, guys over here!" Jade ran up to a computer terminal on the wall and activated it. "Hm?"

"What is it?" Firestorm frowned, staring at the confusing letters. He was never good when it came to technology.

"I was thinking about hacking into their computer systems, but it seems as if someone's already done that for me." Jade began typing on the keyboard. "He's patched me in to one of the security cameras."

"Meaning?" Nightslice asked.

In response, Jade brought up a screen displaying what seemed to be a meeting room. Seated within was Raguragi, accompanied by various species of Pokemon and Dragon guards.

"Our mysterious contact is letting us eavesdrop on them?" Nightslice suggested.

"No, I think it's more than just that." Jade answered, tapping the screen. "Look there."

* * *

"Bashaamo's late." Raguragi impatiently tapped his fingers on the table. "How long does it take to bring one human child up here anyway?"

"Sir! Sir!" The door slid open as Citraz the Gale Dragon stumbled into the room. "Bashaamo seems to have disappeared, and the human girl too!"

"What? How?"

"We don't know, but there were several of Bashaamo's troops found in the corridor with various injuries. A few more units are missing and we're searching for them now." Citraz reported. "No signs of fighting though, so it could be an inside job."

"Or even Bashaamo herself." Raguragi muttered furiously. "Damn! I never should've trusted her!"

"Why do you…" Citraz began.

"Huh?" Raguragi jumped up at the sound of a metallic click.

The next instant, a deafening explosion rocked the room.

"What the hell?" Raguragi hollered, wiping the dust out of his eyes.

The room was in a mess, with furniture and pieces of equipment lying everywhere. His guards were all sprawled around the room, either dead or unconscious. Coughing sounded from nearby as Citraz struggled to his feet.

Surprisingly, most of the walls had remained intact, with only the far right corner having a large hole in it.

"Losing one little girl and an essential piece of the puzzle too." A deep voice chuckled. "That is so sad."

A serpent-like shadow had appeared through the hole in the wall, calmly hovering about. It was a long and massive Rayquaza, with a brown cloak covering the upper part of his body. The lower parts of the green dragon were coiled up and didn't hinder his movement as he approached Raguragi.

"Grrr….you must be with the one who declares himself the Prophet." The Swampert crouched into a fighting stance.

"I am the one who you speak of." The Prophet uncoiled some parts of his serpentine body as he flew around the room.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you're dealing with forces you can't possible understand!" Raguragi said furiously.

"Oh, I know much more than you think." The Prophet laughed. "It's all about the 16 ancient dragons that once fought in a great war many thousands of years ago. When the wars ended, the surviving dragons cast aside their allegiances and became the guardians of many realms."

Raguragi winced, obviously not expecting such an answer.

"However, they chose to reside in one particular realm, the only one where the race known as humans existed." The Prophet continued. "And that was where your master came in, first gathering up the Spirit Crystals of the 9 who had fallen, then attacking the 7 dragons that remained after the wars."

"How do you know all this?" Raguragi demanded.

"Don't be hasty now my friend, let me finish first." The Rayquaza huffed. "Where was I? Ah, the part where your master had a little mishap, and lost some of those crystals. A small number of those were supercharged in the void that brought them from the human's Earth realm to ours. That enabled the rebel group of humans and Pokemon who came through to unlock and release the memories of the ancient dragons sealed within."

"The humans…grrrr…."

"Oh, do I detect malice in your voice?" The Prophet revealed a purple Spirit Crystal clutched tightly in his claws. "Let me find out…"

"Gargh!" Raguragi stumbled back as a purple flash blinded him. The Swampert dropped to all fours, panting.

"I see…you've always believed in that other world the humans live in. And you've held on to that believe despite the doubts of your peers. So when the one you now call master appeared in your world one day, you immediately swore allegiance to him."

"He was wounded from a great battle, but his powers opened my eyes!" Raguragi yelled. "I saw things beyond this world, beings so weak they didn't deserve to exist. It disgusted me! I easily had the power to conquer and rule them!"

"And he promised you that, didn't he?" The Prophet nodded. "That's why all this came about. You had the wealth, the influence. That was why he chose you as his foothold in this world. And it was from here that he gained even more strength, enough to attack the 7 remaining dragons in the Earth realm."

"You haven't answered my question yet! How do you know all this?" Raguragi asked again. "It is because of the Spirit Crystal you're holding?"

"Perhaps it is. But I've always felt that your master's choice was well, rather hastily made." The Prophet remarked, tossing his purple crystal around.

"What was that?"

"I too was once blind to all this. But I was there when your master returned to this realm, bearing many of the Spirit Crystals." The Prophet declared. "I took some of those crystals he'd lost for my own. Like you, my eyes were opened. And like you, I desired more of that power."

"You fool! I am the one chosen to partake in his powers!" Raguragi roared.

"So, we shall see." The Prophet threw his dragon head back and laughed.

However, he caught sight of a security camera mounted to the wall above him. The camera had survived the explosion and had remained on the entire time. The Prophet spewed a Dragon Breath attack from his jaws, disintegrating the camera in a shower of sparks.

"Now, where were we?" The Rayquaza sniggered.

"You're just a single dragon! Do you seriously think you have a chance against my troops!" Raguragi gestured.

"Oh, don't you mean **my** troops?" The Prophet snapped his fingers.

Citraz, who had been standing there watching the scenario play out, suddenly lumbered over to the Prophet's side. He was joined too by the guards who'd recovered from the explosion.

"What's going on here?" Raguragi stared.

"Your mind may be protected because of your Spirit Crystals, but all others are helpless to the powers of the Psychic Spirit Crystal!" The Prophet roared. "Now, we shall see who is the one truly chosen to inherit the powers of Kaiser!"


	24. Old Enemies, Old Scars

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Old Enemies, Old Scars**

By nightdragon0

"Now that was certainly convenient." Jade panted. "Our two biggest enemies nicely spilling out the whole story right in front of us. Although it certainly wasn't intentional."

"As much as a pain they are, I don't think those two are really our biggest problems." Kris replied.

"What do you mean by that?"

In response, Kris gestured towards Nightslice, who was running in front of her, using her eyes.

The two humans and two Pokemon were making their way down the corridor at full speed. An intense scene had unfolded right in front of them, or rather on the security monitor. But since the Prophet had decided to blow the camera apart, Kris' party was now left in the dark.

And the only way to find out what the heck was going on was to go to the room itself. Somehow, that could've been what the Prophet actually wanted.

_It can't be true. He can't really be back. _Nightslice cursed silently. _After all I went through…after all we went through…no…I thought I was free of him._

As if sensing his friend's distress, Firestorm remained silent, but kept in step with the Scizor.

_It's right around here…_Nightslice noted as a figure suddenly leapt from the shadows.

A Donphan, a smaller gray, elephant-like creature with a trunk and a pair of tusks, came spinning towards him. Nightslice blocked the Rollout attack and skidded back, bracing himself against the ground. The Ground-type Donphan broke into another roll, only this time Nightslice was better prepared.

"Hyper Beam!" The Scizor raised one of his pincers and fired off a powerful ray of energy. Not directly at his opponent, but at the ground. That knocked the Donphan into a distorted state, so much that it was a simple task for Nightslice to knock it out cold by ramming it into the wall.

"RRAARRWWW!" Firestorm spewed his fiery breath down another hallway, with many screams and howls arising from that direction. "Panic's completely taking over. All the Pokemon, Dragons, whatever…they're attacking anything in sight!"

"If we take this chance to escape, they'll never know…" Jade began.

"No, I've got to see for myself." Nightslice muttered and continued running.

"Nightslice wait for us!" Kris called. "You're…"

A little too late, Nightslice realized that a laser tripwire was right in front of him. Reacting on instinct, the Scizor jumped, and then rolled beneath a second one. However, the floor was apparently pressure-plated, with a heavy set of doors responding to his intrusion.

"Whoa!" Firestorm screeched to a halt.

Unfortunately, another defense mechanism was activated, releasing a couple of spherical bombs. The Charizard immediately blew them apart with his flames, but the force of the explosion still threw the Fire type onto his back.

Firestorm suddenly found a ceiling-mounted machine gun pointed down towards him, until Kris stepped in front and brought out her sword. Whirling the blade faster than eye could see, Kris deflected the volley of bullets right back, blowing the automated gun apart.

"Thanks." Firestorm panted. "Haven't lost your touch, eh?"

"You've really spent too much time away from me." Kris helped the dragon up. "Remind me to get you back into shape after this."

"We won't be getting past this way." Jade noted, gesturing towards the door that Nightslice had disappeared behind.

"Hmmm…" Kris looked around, spotting another corridor. "We'll try this way! Come on!"

* * *

All that greeted Nightslice was shouting and screaming, but it was enough to tell him that a big fight was underway. Approaching the corner as silently as he could, Nightslice pressed his back against the wall and peered out, gasping at what he saw.

There was Raguragi, ferociously pounding away at a horde of Pokemon. Amongst them were several Zangoose, Manectric and Marowak, all of whom were thrown away by Raguragi's Earthquake strike.

_Those were definitely Raguragi's troops. I remember Bahamut and Lombadra fighting them earlier. _Nightslice frowned. _So, why are they attacking their own boss?_

"Garrggghhh! Damn you!" Raguragi cursed.

The Swampert fired off a Hydro Pump, a powerful jet of water into a couple of humanoid Shadow Drakes. He whirled around and tackled another one before moving on to a blue scaled Aqua Dragon.

Nightslice soon noticed the serpent-like Pokemon, Rayquaza, hovering nearby. Clutched in the Prophet's claws was a purple colored crystal that shimmered with an odd energy. The dragon himself seemed to be deep in some sort of incantation, mumbling softly to himself.

_That's Psychic power! So, the Prophet is using psychic energy to manipulate Ragi's troops. Sneaky plan, but I'd better not…_

"Rarrrgghh!" Too caught up in his thoughts, Nightslice had failed to notice the figure sneaking up behind him until he was grabbed around the neck.

His opponent was Citraz, a Gale Dragon, with Wind or Flying elemental properties. One of Raguragi's many soldiers, this was a green scaled dragon that could almost be mistaken for a cross between a human and a Flygon.

The blank look in the dragon's large red eyes told Nightslice that he'd been hypnotized as well.

Unfortunately, the assessment didn't help the Scizor's position much. Nightslice found himself shoved out from his hiding spot and next to Raguragi, right in the center of all the chaos.

"What the?" Raguragi snarled. "How did you manage to get out?"

"Worry about yourself before you start asking me questions!" Nightslice snapped. "Duck!"

The two dropped to their stomachs as a Hyper Beam flew right over their heads. Immediately after, the two jumped up and retaliated with their own Hyper Beams, blowing more of the hypnotized troops away.

"Humph, I wasn't expecting you here so soon." The Prophet looked up, seemingly taking note of Nightslice for the first time. "However, I'm afraid that you're in the way this time. Myollnir! Where are you?"

"Right here." The feathered thunder dragon stepped out of the shadows.

"Good, it's time to carry on with the…"

"No, I'm afraid I'll have to pass." Myollnir suddenly interrupted.

"What?" The Prophet gasped, obviously not having expected that reply.

The thunder dragon suddenly tossed a small canister onto the ground, which exploded in a black cloud of smoke. Startled, the Prophet lurched back and begun coughing as the dark mist filled the room.

"What have you done?" The Rayquaza growled furiously.

"Betray you. Isn't it obvious?" Myollnir laughed. "This cloud is a dark elemental mist that interferes with psychic abilities. Even ones generated from that Spirit Crystal of yours."

"You fool!"

"What the? Ugghh…where am I?" Citraz dropped to his knees, groaning. "What's going on?"

"His psychic powers got you, that's what." Raguragi moved over and pulled the Gale Dragon to his feet. "All the troops are down, so you'll have to help me out."

_Just what the heck is going on? _Nightslice wondered as he dashed out of the way. _This war is getting more and more complicated._

"Stay out of this!" The Prophet turned his head and launched a Dragon Breath. Being a Dragon-type move, it wasn't affected by the psychic damper and easily blew the pair off their feet.

Raguragi and Citraz flew across the room and lay there moaning, stunned into submission by the blast.

"Zap Cannon!" Myollnir dropped to all fours and pushed her wings forward, sending off a wave of electricity that shocked the Prophet while he was distracted. She immediately sprang to her feet and shot a Thunderbolt from her fists that further dazed the Rayquaza.

Even though electric attacks were not effective against dragon types, the paralysis effect still took hold, leaving the green dragon to hit the wall with a howl of pain. His body crackled painfully with the electrical charges as the Prophet tried to get up.

"Still caught up in your delusions, I see." Myollnir folded her arms. "You'll never be able to inherit Kaiser's power. That not for you, or for anyone to control!"

"Grrr…I should've guessed that you had this planned from the start!"

"Maybe, but because I'm powered by a Spirit Crystal too, the psychic crystal's powers don't nearly affect me as much. Or should I say, my partners and me."

"That Dragonite! I never should've given her the Thunder Crystal!" The Prophet fumed. "But I sensed that second soul within her body…it was too good an experiment to pass up!"

_A Dragonite? _Nightslice's heart skipped a beat. _A second soul? Could it be?_

"So now I'm just an experiment huh? I'm insulted." The Legendary Thunder Dragon huffed. "Well your 'experiment' has just gotten out of hand. I'll thank you for awakening me, but now that I've gotten everything I needed from you, I'll just be on my way…"

"RRAARRWWW!"

"What the? Garrgghhh!" Myollnir howled as a Dragon Breath attack slammed into her unprotected back. The thunder dragon's yellowish feathers flew everywhere as she violently crashed into the wall.

Her assailant, a Salamence, came charging out of the shadows. This was a quadruped dragon-type Pokemon with blue scales and red leathery wings. However, she was also badly bruised and battered. Her body was covered by many cuts and wounds, many of them fresh and bleeding. Her right wing was twisted as an odd angle while the other had several tears in it.

"Dammit Tanya…" Myollnir panted. "I though I finished you off!"

"I don't die so easily." Tanya the Salamence roared as she stabbed both her front claws into the fallen Myollnir's stomach.

The latter howled in pain, but Tanya didn't let up.

Snarling, the blue dragon withdrew her bloodstained claws and knocked Myollnir onto her back. Tanya clamped her claws around the wounded dragon's neck, intent on strangling her. While Myollnir fought back as best as she could, her opponent still had a stronger position.

Then, the thunder dragon turned and shouted at Nightslice.

"There's…no time…" Myollnir coughed. "He'll awaken…if we…don't…hurry…"

"Awaken?" Nightslice gasped. "Who? What?"

"That would be me."

Everyone in the room froze and turned towards the source of the voice. But it was Nightslice who was most deeply affected.

Not only was he shocked, but utterly horrified as well.

* * *

To anyone else, the ominous figure would seem like a black colored Scizor. While that was considered an uncommon sight, it would certainly not be enough to make a normal person stare in disbelief. But that was how Nightslice reacted, for he knew that this was no ordinary Scizor.

"So nice to finally see you again." The newcomer grinned. "Of course, I was watching you back at the harbor, on the day you first entered this realm. You saw the all the illusions I created as I fought with Zian. But I suppose those don't really count as seeing you face-to-face."

"No…" Nightslice muttered, automatically snapping into a battle stance. "You…you're dead! Firestorm and me…we saw to that!"

"You're correct in the sense that the original Kaiser is dead." The black Scizor laughed. "But I'm not exactly him in a sense. I am you…the part of yourself that was once the Knight Blazer."

_No…_Nightslice took a step backwards. _In that final battle, I severed all links to my Forbidden Powers! But he…he's like a clone of me! Created from the conversion of those energies I cast out from my body! _

"Sure I was weak initially, but at the scene of the final battle, a Spirit Crystal lay there, just within my reach." The 'copy' continued.

"Kel' Tharus, the Ghost Dragon." Nightslice muttered. "He helped us in that battle and was slain by Kaiser. No…you…you used the powers of his spirit Crystal to restore your strength!"

His group hadn't known about the Spirit Crystal back then, and Nightslice mentally cursed Zian for not having the insight to tell them.

"Correct." His opponent chuckled. "Once I had that one, it led me to the others. First I took those belonging to the already dead Legendary Dragons, then I went on to those that were still living. Sure they struggled, but all their efforts were in vain…"

"Bastard!" Nightslice growled.

"Then Zian got in the way and messed up all my plans, bringing you lot into this. He managed to open the portal to this alternate world during his fight with me, and the Spirit Crystals were lost within…thrown back into the past of this world. I tired to follow, but I couldn't go nearly as far back as the crystals were thrown."

Raguragi and Citraz had recovered by this time, walking over and bowing at their master's feet. Tanya and Myollnir had stopped fighting for the moment while the Prophet looked on.

"These fellows helped me and seeking out the Spirit Crystals became our priority." Kaiser gestured. "I've been weakened and asleep for so long. But now, with so many gathered here together…my power grows once more! The original Kaiser may be gone, but I will become a new one, stronger than ever before!"

_So many crystals? Bahamut and Lombadra! _Nightslice realized. _When Bahamut walked past those double doors earlier, he felt something strange within. That must've been Kaiser! _

"Well not if I can do anything about it!" Nightslice yelled, firing off a Hyper Beam from his right pincer.

"Humph!" Kaiser responded by waving a pincer and raising a Reflect, creating a wall of light that absorbed the blunt of the attack.

Raguragi and Citraz rose to attack, but Kaiser held them back with a gesture from one of his claws.

"I'm about to put you back where you belong!" Nightslice roared, spreading his wings and breaking into a charge.

His opponent did likewise, both their pincers clashing and bouncing off. The two skidded and bounded off the walls, colliding again in the center of the room. Sparks flew as their steel-like pincers met at high speeds, blocking and parrying each other's strokes to perfection.

"Gaarrgghh!" Nightslice managed to knee his foe in the stomach.

The response he received was a similar strike, although it was to his lower jaw. Nightslice was flipped head-over-heels and slammed onto the ground. Ignoring the pain, Kaiser stomped down, barely missing as Nightslice rolled away.

A quick sweeping kick had the black Scizor stumbling as Nightslice sprang to his feet.

"Silver Wind!" Nightslice threw his wings forward, calling forth a gust of silvery wind.

Kaiser dropped to one knee, bracing himself against the ground. Then, the dark Scizor looked up with an evil grin.

"Shadow Storm!"

"What?" Nightslice gasped, never having heard of that attack before.

A dark twister suddenly materialized in the room, literally sweeping away Nightslice's attack before catching the Scizor himself in its wake. Nightslice was tossed and spun before being thrown into a wall, leaving the dented impression of his body in it.

"Shadow Blitz!"

Nightslice's mind had barely even registered the pain before another attack came. This one was in the form of an energy arrow that made contact with Nightslice's body…and exploded. The Scizor screamed as he was engulfed by flames and finally dropped roughly onto the floor.

"You're so much weaker without my influence." Kaiser snarled. "How pathetic. You could've become so much more…"

"Grrr…damn…" Nightslice hissed, struggling to stand.

"It's time to take back what's mine." Kaiser formed up a ball of dark energy in each of his pincers.

"Nightslice!" Firestorm barged into the room, followed closely by Kris and Jade.

"Guys! Watch out!" Nightslice warned.

However, as Kaiser unleashed the shots, it quickly became apparent that he hadn't been aiming for Nightslice or any one of his party. Instead, the shots curved about…and pierced right through the body of the Prophet.

Several of the energy balls also sprayed around Tanya and Myollnir, throwing up huge clouds of debris.

The serpent-like Rayquaza went down with a hideous howl and a huge spray of blood. A burning stanch of charred flesh quickly filled the room as the lifeless body dropped with a dull thud. A purple colored shard, the Psychic elemental Spirit Crystal, rolled across the floor and stopped by Kaiser's foot.

Grinning, the dark Scizor picked it up in his pincer and swallowed it whole.

"This is just the first of many." Kaiser growled.

* * *

"Who is this guy?" Firestorm snarled.

"The Knight Blazer, reborn." Nightslice muttered as Kris and Jade helped him to his feet.

"Your dark side?" Jade gasped.

"So, your instincts were right all along." Kris nodded darkly. "He's been the one behind everything, hasn't he?"

_(Whatever he is, we'll take him!) _Bahamut's voice sounded.

_(Yeah, I'm ready!) _Lombadra agreed.

"Hargghh!" Kaiser abruptly fired off the dark shots again, forced Firestorm to quickly counter with a breath of flames.

The dark and fire elemental energies met in the center of the room, shoving desperately at one another. Firestorm begun to sweat as the Charizard struggled to maintain his flames.

"Help him!" Nightslice grunted.

"Jade, your sword!" Kris ordered.

The two humans rushed forward and crossed their swords in Firestorm's flames. It took some of the pressure off Firestorm, but Kaiser only forced his dark energy harder and harder.

_(Dammit! How can he be more powerful than the two of us?) _Bahamut snarled.

_(Don't ask me…garrrgghhh!) _Lombadra howled.

Suddenly, the convergence of energies simply exploded, throwing the group backwards. Moaning, the four looked up to find Myollnir hovering in front of them with her arms held out.

"Bahamut, Lombadra…focus your Spirit energies on the teleport point below and you'll be able to activate it from here. I'll lend my own energies to help."

_(What makes you think we're running away?) _Bahamut demanded.

"You can't win this battle here. It's still too early." Myollnir replied.

_(You're giving us orders?) _Lombadra was equally unhappy.

"Swallow your pride a little and do it!" Kris snapped, realizing the point of Myollnir's argument.

The two dragon spirits did comply however, causing a black swirling vortex to appear behind the group. Raguragi and Citraz had backed out of the room while Tanya continued to look on in a state of shock and confusion.

All of the various Pokemon and Dragon soldiers had awakened by this time and long since fled the building in panic.

"Rarrgghh!" Myollnir was still holding back Kaiser's blast with her claws.

"Myollnir!" Nightslice called. "Come with us!"

"This is…draining…all of my power." The thunder dragon grunted. "You must…put Kaiser down again….once and for all!"

"How? You know, don't you?"

"My partners…they'll tell you…" Myollnir said softly. "They were the ones…who convinced me that…you and your world…was worth fighting for…"

_(Myollnir! You can't hold Kaiser's attack back like this!) _Lombadra called. _(You'll get yourself killed!)_

"I am…already dead…sorry Lombadra." Myollnir looked back and grinned. "I wish we could've spent more time together after so long…but…fate has other things in store…"

_(Myollnir…)_

"Finish this." Myollnir closed her eyes as the dragoness' entire body begun glowing with electrical energy.

"Not good…" Raguragi muttered from outside the room. "Citraz! The window! Now!"

"Got it!" The Gale Dragon grabbed Raguragi's shoulders in his talons and spread his wings, smashing out through the window.

"Let's get out of here!" Kris screamed over the din, dragging her companions through the portal.

"Raging Phoenix!" The wave of electrical energy around Myollnir formed into the image of a Phoenix, rising and spreading its wings.

"Rarrrggghhh!" Kaiser let off a long howl as the blinding light engulfed him.

_It was good to come back into this world…and experience life one more time…_Myollnir smiled inwardly. _But now…I have to go back to my eternal slumber. My partners…thank you for making it…all worthwhile. Dracia…Serac…_

The explosion came slowly, but drowned out everything else in its wake.

* * *

"I'm very sure now that this is Mount Moon." Alken remarked, taking a glance at the midnight sky. "We're still on the Eastern Side of this strange world."

"I still don't smell any dragons around." Abetos informed him.

"Yeah, from the looks of this place, it's been deserted for years. I suppose no one comes here any more."

After their last battle on the Cinnabar Islands, Skiar had found a teleport point for them, but it had ended up bringing them here, to this desolate mountain. Apparently the Dark Elemental Dragon wasn't used to doing this sort of thing, plus the recent battle had worn him down significantly.

Skiar had fallen into silence, his spirit quietly resting within Alken's gun. And with no real way to tell where they were, Alken and Abetos had taken to exploring the mountain range they'd been teleported into, although cautiously.

The pair had encountered nothing living during their two days of exploration, but found dozens of Moonstones embedded in the rocky walls of the various tunnels, leading them to believe that it was indeed the Mount Moon of this realm.

Still troubled by his vision of Nala being in trouble, Alken hadn't slept well in the previous days, and it was clearly showing on his body, even if Abetos couldn't see it.

"Still worried about her?" The Houndoom asked as they walked back to the cave that served as their camp.

"Yes I am." Alken admitted. "I know, it sounds rather odd of me. Nala's quite capable of taking care of herself, but…"

"I understand." Abetos replied. "But you really do need to rest. It's no point to keep worrying and end up not having the strength to take action once the time comes."

"You're right. I just…huh?" Alken glanced over to the circle of symbols carved into the floor. Those symbols represented the teleport point and the pair had set up camp in the same cavern, just to be prepared.

Now, the circle of symbols was glowing with a yellowish energy.

"Something's strange…" Abetos muttered, tensing up.

A blinding flash caused Alken to look away in reflex, but Abetos, being blind, simply moved forward. When the view did clear however, the black haired man gasped at what he saw.

Lying there on the teleport point was a Salamence. It was badly wounded, burnt and bleeding all over, but nevertheless was still alive and moaning softly.

Abetos approached cautiously and sniffed at the dragon type Pokemon, giving Alken a nod once he was sure that it was safe.

"Wonder who she is?" The Houndoom muttered. "Where'd she come from?"

"Who knows?" Alken knelt by her side. "Looks like she's badly hurt, but we might be able to save her."

"We don't even know who she is! She could be some enemy spy or something!"

"True, but if we don't help her, we'll never know." Alken started digging into his belt pouch. "Besides, I'll feel bad just leaving someone to die like this."

"Yeah, true." Abetos admitted, although he was obviously not too hot about the idea. "Need anything?"

"Some water from that spring we found would be good."

* * *

"Uggh…oww…" Jade moaned, opening his eyes.

"Jade!" Kris' voice sounded again. "Come on! Get up!"

Jade felt another tug on his shoulder and opened his eyes to find himself looking up into Kris' face.

"Thank god…you're all right!"

"Damn, my head…" Jade muttered, sitting up. "I'm alive at least."

He then noticed the surroundings were very different from the building they'd been in earlier. How ever the teleporter worked, it had certainly done its job of bringing them out of the collapsing building. Jade and Kris were now kneeling inside a dimly-lit cavern, and a damp one for that matter.

The blond haired man realized it was because of the huge underground lake nearby. He'd been lying on the edge of a cliff, not too far off from the edge. Despite the ominous feel of the dark water, it was strangely calm and still.

Poised above them were the looming statues of two serpent-like dragon heads, barely illuminated by a couple of flaming torches nearby.

"What is this place?" Jade glanced around in awe.

_(It's a sacred dragon ground from ancient times.) _Bahamut answered.

"I'm guessing that this is around where the Dragon's Den is in our world." Kris explained. "In other words, we're near Blackthorn City."

"Storm…Nightslice…did they make it too?"

"They did. And so did an old friend."

"Old friend?" With Kris' support, Jade shakily got to his feet.

He quickly spotted Firestorm and Nightslice close by, both crouched over a third shape lying on the ground. Jade gasped as he looked over the dragonoid figure with orange scales. It was a large, broad shouldered one with a small pair of leathery wings and a set of 'antenna' on its lizard-like head.

A Dragonite…and one that Jade knew very well. For the two of them had lived and grown up together…seemingly so long ago.

"Dracia!" Jade gasped.

"Hello Jade…" Dracia replied weakly. "It's been a while."

Dracia looked completely drained of energy and very pale. Kris had obviously worked on her earlier, for Dracia had a bandage wrapped around her left shoulder and a large, blood-soaked one going around her stomach.

Jade was no doctor, but even he knew a dying Pokemon when he saw one. However, he did his best to avoid that subject for now.

"What are you doing here?"

_(She was Myollnir.) _Lombadra spoke. _(Or at least Myollnir's bonded partner, like Storm and you are to me.)_

"H…how? Just you Dracia?"

_(She had me too.) _Another female voice responded. _(That's why we were able to awaken Myollnir by working together.)_

A semi-translucent image of a tall blond haired woman flickered into view, startling those present. Dracia touched the golden pendant hanging around her neck and smiled.

"How could we forget?" Nightslice looked over to the woman's ghostly figure. "Your soul's been within Dracia's body since that…accident…"

That was another sensitive matter from one of the group's previous encounters that they did their best not to talk too much about. Everyone knew that Dracia's emotions had been hurt badly by it, mostly because the Dragonite felt she was the cause of the accident that had gotten Serac killed.

_(I guess the spiritual energies in this realm are different.) _Serac nodded. _(Myollnir taught me how to manipulate them a little better so I can appear like this.) _

"What happened to you guys?" Jade knelt over and stroked the side of Dracia's head. "We haven't heard anything from you two since Nala and Riot saw you the day after the final battle."

"We've all been wondering where you'd gone and all." Firestorm added in. "Especially me."

"You're sweet…as always…" Dracia laughed. "I've been traveling around, reflecting…I couldn't go back to face you all…after what I'd done. But Serac was always there for me."

_(At one point, we paid a visit to our old comrade, Lugia.) _Serac continued in a more steady tone, for Dracia's physical injuries didn't seem to hamper her voice. _(He had sensed an odd disturbance and asked if we wanted to check it out, something we agreed to. None of us knew it then, but it was in fact the re-awakening of the Knight Blazer that he sensed.)_

"And the rest of us were simply blind to it." Nightslice frowned.

_(It was very subtle, even Lugia didn't know what it was. But Dracia went to that same place where you first entered this realm from and was sucked in. It was the Prophet, who'd been testing out a summoning spell of his.)_

"So you two came into this world before we did?"

"Indeed, and I…worked under the Prophet's…wing for nearly a year." Dracia explained. "That's why I seemingly…disappeared off the face of the Earth."

_(When the Prophet discovered the Thunder Spirit Crystal, he gave it to us as an experiment…and Myollnir was awakened.)_

"I've been spying on…you all at times." Dracia admitted. "Forgive me for…that."

"Dracia…" Firestorm spoke up for the first time in a while. "We…I really wanted you to come back. But not like this."

"There isn't…time to…waste." Dracia coughed. "You must…destroy…Kaiser again…this time…for good…"

"Myollnir said she knew a way."

_(Kaiser's become completely dependant on the energies of the Spirit Crystals_ _now. They're his last lease at life.) _Serac's voice explained. _(But even if they're hidden away, he can still tap into minute portions of their energy. The only way to truly stop it would be to remove the crystals from the world.)_

"Remove them from the world?" Jade scratched his head. "You're not making any sense."

"Are you talking about our world and this one as being two separate places?" Kris muttered. "So, if we were to trap Kaiser in this world and take the Spirit Crystals back into our world, for example, he would be powerless."

_(It's along that line, but things are more complicated than that.)_

"We can't even get back to our world on our own." Jade nodded. "How are we supposed to think of trapping Kaiser in another one?"

_(There is one of your group who can. One that they called the harmonizer…a person with great psychic talents…)_

"Yusia…" Kris muttered. "It's Yusia that he really wants!"

* * *

"How can you be so sure of that?" Jade asked. "Because of that time we were attacked and they took only Yusia?"

"Even so, what would they do with her talents?" Firestorm wondered.

"She is…a special type of Chimera…" Dracia whispered.

"Of course!" Kris nodded. "She isn't just a Lapras Chimera, but one of the ancient dragon ancestors which the Lapras descended from."

_(And that would be Asiyu.) _Bahamut noted. _(Because of that, there's no telling what kind of powers she could truly have.)_

_(A human who carries the blood of a Legendary Dragon…) _Lombadra continued with a sense of surprise in his voice.

_(Kaiser wants to use what powers she has to unite the energies of the 16 Spirit Crystals.) _Serac's voice darkened. _(That's what we managed to find out. If that happens…)_

"We won't let it happen." Firestorm growled. "We definitely won't. Right Nightslice?"

"Yeah…" The Scizor replied softly.

"Come on, show some enthusiasm! So what if your dark side is back?" Firestorm put a claw around his friend's shoulder. "We'll beat him back as many times as it takes. You have my promise on that!"

"Thanks Storm." Nightslice managed a grin.

"By 'remove the crystals'…" Kris rubbed her chin. "Do you mean for us to destroy them? If that's the case, what'll happen to them?"

For emphasis, the ninja held up the sword that contained Bahamut's spirit.

_(That's what you'll have to find out.) _Serac's voice was beginning to grow softer and softer. _(We're counting on you guys!)_

Dracia and Serac's image looked towards each other and smiled as the latter slowly grew fainter and fainter.

"Serac!" Jade held out a hand, but the ghostly figure had vanished.

Firestorm took hold of Dracia's claw and squeezed it tightly. Weakly, Dracia returned the gesture and lifted up her other hand to stroke the side of the Charizard's face. He leaned down and nuzzled the side of the Dragonite's head for one last time…before Dracia's body fell limp.

"Dracia…" Storm was letting his tears flow freely.

Pride didn't matter for now as there was nothing to hide. Kris, Jade and Nightslice were all weeping with him, mourning the loss of not one, but two long time friends and comrades.

_(Hey…) _Bahamut shot a private telepathic message to Lombadra. _(Have you thought about it? Really…what happens to us after all this is over?)_

That was a question even Lombadra had no answer for at the moment. However, the fire dragon's mind drifted to thoughts of yet another individual.

_Myollnir…_

Even the Legendary Dragons had someone to mourn.


	25. Bonds

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Bonds**

By nightdragon0

"This is a mess." Raguragi muttered, glancing over the burning remains of the building.

Citraz and the Swampert were standing on the roof of an adjacent building, watching as groups of dragons below worked to put out the flames. Those were just civilians in a sense, completely unaware of the motive and existence of Kaiser.

This was still the Kanto region, and being Dragon territory, Raguragi knew that it was a bad idea for him to be out in the open. With the conflict he had worked to start between the West and the East, the Pokemon and Dragons of the respective territories were now at each other's throats.

The building whose roof they stood on was a 'safe house', one that was used for their operations. Citraz's Dragon troops had no problem moving around the city, but Raguragi noted that not all of his Pokemon troops had made it here. It was inevitable, and as a commander, he couldn't do much but eat his losses.

"The master is still out there, right?" Citraz looked out the wreckage.

"Hmm…"

"You should not doubt me. It was a valiant effort, but one that fell short nevertheless."

Raguragi and Citraz turned to find the black Scizor standing on another rooftop, and quickly bowed as their master leapt over to their side. Clutched in Kaiser's claw was a gleaming yellow crystal, the thunder Spirit Crystal.

"Of course not master, I never will." Raguragi declared.

"Now that I have awakened, we must gather up enough Spirit Crystals so that I may be at my full power once more." Kaiser spoke.

"These are what I have." Raguragi offered up three Spirit Crystals representing water, ground and a non-elemental (normal). The first two had been used by him while the last one had been obtained by Juncan in an earlier brush with Nightslice and Firestorm. "Bashaamo has betrayed us and taken both her Spirit Crystals and the human child we needed."

"The harmonizer is gone?" Kaiser growled, using his own description for Yusia.

"I'm sorry master! I will put all our efforts into hunting down her and the traitor." Raguragi affirmed. "I will call Juncan back to bring his Spirit Crystals…"

"No, save yourself the effort and take these." Kaiser shoved the water and ground crystals into a startled Raguragi's hands. "Take them for now and make full use of them. Order what followers we have to move to our new base. And ensure that you do not fail again."

"Thank you master! I promise that it will be done."

With that, Kaiser walked away and consumed both the thunder and non-elemental crystals, leaving Raguragi and Citraz to carry out their assigned tasks.

"Soon, my time will come again." The dark Scizor growled. "And it will at last be the end of you, Nightslice…"

* * *

"Uggh…arrgghh…."

Alken was once again awakened by the wounded Salamence's moaning. The orange glow of their campfire was the only thing that pierced the darkness of the cavern, covering the walls with that eerie lighting. He'd done his best with their limited medical supplies, but the Salamence still seemed to be in pain.

She kept moaning and groaning, but had never really regained consciousness for far. Nevertheless, Alken had aroused himself each time to watch over her. Abetos was curled up on the other side of the fire, somehow managing to sleep through the noise.

But the Salamence was stirring rather violently this time, causing Alken to sit straight up with concern.

"No…no…don't…" The dragon type Pokemon muttered. "No…"

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, staring straight into Alken's. The next reaction was an instinctive lunge to what she perceived to be imminent danger. Fortunately, Alken was swift enough to hop back and brace himself against the ground.

It helped that the Salamence's front right paw was sprained, but sharp claws still cut into Alken's skin as he used his arms to block.

"Grrrr…"

"Calm down!" Alken urged. "I'm not going to hurt you! You've got enough injuries already!"

Struggling wildly, the Salamence tore part of the bandages that were wrapped around her stomach area and flexed both her wings, even though the right one was broken.

Sensing the danger, Abetos sprang up and raced around the campfire. The hound grabbed the Salamence's tail in his jaws and tugged, although not too hard. Distracted, the dragon type turned and roared.

Using the advantage, Alken shoved his body weight forward. He managed to push the dragon-type onto her back and carefully pinned her arms and neck down.

"Relax! Get a hold of yourself girl!" Alken muttered.

"If you're going to kill me, then do it!" The Salamence hissed with a fiery look in her eyes.

"Hey, no one's going to do anything!" Abetos added in. "The guy there just saved your life, so at least try to show some appreciation!"

"I…"

"I promise, we're not here to hurt you." Alken whispered. "Now, please calm down and don't strain your injuries any more."

Alken felt the Salamence's struggling stop and released his grip. The dragon-type attempted to get to her feet, but stumbled and fell with a moan of pain.

"Are you all right?" Alken leaned closer to her face.

"It hurts." The Salamence gritted her fangs, glancing towards her stomach area.

"Here, drink some of this." Alken offered her a bottle.

The Salamence sniffed it and realized that it was cool, fresh water. She couldn't even think about resisting as her parched lips immediately shot out for the liquid, sucking it down her throat.

"Why….why are you helping me?" She looked up after draining the bottle.

"We found you lying here in this badly wounded state." Alken replied. "I wouldn't have felt right to just leave you."

"I see…" The Salamence lay her head down. "Thank you…"

"Just what happened to you?" Abetos queried. "You look like you've been through an inferno or something."

"I…I…don't want to talk about it…" The dragon-type closed her eyes. Although she was trying to hide it, Alken could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

_Whatever happened to this poor girl must've been quite traumatic. _Alken sighed.

"It's all right if it's too painful for you." Alken nodded. "My name is Alken, and this is Abetos. Can you at least tell me yours?"

The Salamence glanced from him to Abetos and back, before finally opening her mouth to speak.

"It's Tanya…."

"Well Tanya, you should get some rest." Alken suggested. "It's late at night, but we can talk if you're feeling better by morning."

"Yes, thank you." Tanya placed her head back down on the ground again.

As she did however, Tanya noticed the odd weapon hanging on Alken's belt. It was some sort of machine gun, but it's 'presence' felt rather odd. Or rather, it was almost as if there was some strange aura radiating from it.

An aura just like Myollnir or even her master's…

Weariness took hold and Tanya finally drifted off into the darkness of sleep.

* * *

The dim rays of sunlight woke Nightslice for his restless slumber. Small holes in the cavern's roof allowed the little bit of light to seep in.

Although the cavern had been damp and chilly during the night, the two burning torches nearby helped. Apparently, they were lit with a sacred flame that never seemed to burn out.

Kris and Jade were still asleep, huddled up against each other for warmth. The remaining embers of their small fireplace still glowed, giving off the burning scent of smoke.

The two swords containing the spirits of Bahamut and Lombadra were lying nearby, though it was impossible for Nightslice to tell if they really 'slept' or not.

Only Firestorm was missing.

A quick glance brought Nightslice's view to the shore of the underground lake, where his companion stood as vigilantly as ever. The Charizard was still sitting there with Dracia's body, the fiery glow of his tail flame giving him away in the low lighting.

Dracia herself looked so peaceful…almost as if she were merely asleep. But Nightslice knew better, for this was a sleep from which she would never awaken.

Nightslice's back hurt from lying on the hard, cold floor and he shifted about uneasily. When the Scizor looked up again, Firestorm had moved.

The Charizard was now closer to the shore. Yet, Nightslice could tell that his longtime friend was still mourning Dracia's death. Firestorm uttered another of his soft, sorrowful moans, similar to the ones Nightslice had been hearing throughout the night.

_I never knew he cared so much about her. _Nightslice thought. _All this time, he seemed pretty cheerful according to Jade. He must've been holding so much pain within. No, that's not it. _

The Scizor looked up at the ceiling.

_That was how Firestorm dealt with his pain…by hiding it at the back of his mind, covered by a veil of laughter. But look at me…I've been so caught up in my own sorrows and worries that I even affected Kris' feelings. Damn, why am I such a…huh?_

Nightslice blinked, staring straight at Firestorm. The fire elemental was no longer standing at the shore, but rather, he'd waded out into knee-deep water, carrying Dracia's body with him. As expected, Firestorm kept the flaming tip of his tail above the water's surface, but he was walking further and further out.

* * *

Bashaamo looked left and right, making sure she wasn't being followed for the umpteen time. The Blaziken then rounded the corner and carefully pushed the small hut's door open.

"It's me. You can come out now."

At her call, Yusia emerged from under the shadows of the bed and walked up to Bashaamo.

"Here." Bashaamo offered, revealing a wrapped up packet. "You should eat to keep up your strength."

"Thank you." Yusia took the packet and nodded, taking a seat at the table.

Meanwhile, Bashaamo continued to look out the window while eyeing the human child every now and then.

_They never did really tell me anything, Raguragi and those others. _She thought. _After all, I'm just the mercenary. But the things I've heard, about this girl, about her being a sacrifice, about this other world and portals…I'm just not cut out for this sort of thing. So why? What made me do this?_

She shot a quick glance over to Yusia, who was busy eating. The little girl had become very attached to her lately. No longer did she tremble with fear when Bashaamo was around, rather she smiled and giggled happily.

_It was her. There's something…just so different about her. But Raguragi and his troops well be relentless. I've got to be on my best at all times. _

Bashaamo shook her head sadly.

_But what can I do? I can't go back to them for sure. But can I really bring this girl back to her companions? Yes, perhaps that is what I should do. I didn't want to get so involved…no it's already too late for that. _

Already she had dragged Yusia through several different towns on their way out from Saffron. And she'd been very careful too, moving mostly at night, having Yusia wear a brown cloak with a hood and had avoided bringing her into crowded places.

The girl was fearful at first at just did as she was told, but it seemed to the fire-type Pokemon that Yusia was really beginning to trust her more and more.

_Once I had a child just like her. _Bashaamo took another glance. _Once I had a family, a village that wanted to live in peace. But then, the wars started and Dragons attacked our village. So many died…my child was one of them…_

"I'm sorry…" Yusia suddenly whispered.

"Hm?" Bashaamo snapped up in surprise. "I didn't say anything."

"No, but I feel your emotions."

"Emotions? Like reading my mind?"

"A little. I'm sorry, it's a power I can't really control." Yusia admitted. "But you're projecting your thoughts in a way such that it's easy for my psychic senses to pick them up."

"So, you know then." Bashaamo slowly smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not angry. I feel glad actually. I've never had the heart to share this with anyone, so it comes as a relief to finally get it off my chest."

"Thank you for helping me too."

"You know, I became the way I am now because of what happened." Bashaamo continued. "I thought I'd lost all emotion, all sense of feeling and compassion…."

"But you haven't right?"

"I had….until I met you." The Blaziken walked over and knelt by Yusia's side. "However, I believe it's best for you not to stay around me. I promise to get you back to your other companions, but after that…I have to leave."

"Where will you go?" Yusia asked.

"I don't know." Bashaamo whispered. "I really…don't know any more…"

* * *

Tanya opened her eyes, feeling a wince of pain along her back. Her broken right wing was aching and her body felt sore all over.

Alken and Abetos were still asleep, leaving Tanya some time to gather her thoughts. And most of them weren't good ones.

Her master was dead and now she was all alone. Torn apart from the only way of life she'd know since young. Tanya had been orphaned at hatching and the Prophet had found her one day, bringing her up as a powerful warrior. Despite having spent her whole life serving him since, her master had never treated her as a lowly servant.

The Prophet had won followers through respect, not submission.

But then, Tanya felt he had changed when he came across that odd shard…that Spirit Crystal. And he developed an obsession for finding out more about it, and then went on to look for others of its kind. Gradually, he stopped casually talking to Tanya, but she continued to follow her master and do everything she was told without question.

When that Dragonite, Dracia, had come along, he only drifted further and further away from her. And then this…all this had been the result. Still, the two strangers here had been very kind, even tending to her wounds.

None of them were life threatening, but Tanya nevertheless appreciated their assistance. Drawing herself up, the Salamence walked over to the sleeping duo…and abruptly paused.

_I feel that aura again. It's like…_

Yes, an aura just like Myollnir's or her master's Spirit Crystal. That was what Tanya had felt before she'd passed out earlier. Now, she was able to trace it, and ended up staring down at Alken's gun. It was that weapon that continued the Spirit Crystal, Tanya was sure of it.

Suddenly, simply thinking of those Spirit Crystals made Tanya feel enraged. It was because of those things that her master had changed. It was because of those things that Myollnir had come into being, and also why her master was now gone forever.

Tanya didn't really understand what she did next. All she felt was the frustration, all the pent up feelings built up inside of her. In a fit of anger, Tanya snatched up Alken's gun in her jaws and sprinted for the exit.

"Hey…what the?" Alken sprang up. "Tanya? Tanya!"

The black haired human was just in time to spot the dragon type Pokemon disappearing out the cavern's entrance. He was initially confused, but quickly discovered why.

"Dammit! She took my gun! And Skiar's Spirit Crystal with it!"

"I was afraid something like this might happen." Abetos growled, leaping to his feet. "Would now be a good time to say I told you so?"

"I know! I know! Now let's go after her before she gets away!"

With a sprained right forepaw and an inured wing, it was fortunate that Tanya didn't get very far ahead of them. However, she was still considerably fast, fueled by blind emotion.

Despite all of Alken's shouting, Tanya kept running precariously along the cliff edge. Thinking quickly, Alken gestured for his partner to take another route upwards while he continued the chase on the same level as Tanya.

Abetos' excellent jumping ability allowed him to scale the heights extremely quickly. Having learnt how to 'feel' the wind and objects around him, Abetos' blindness hardly hampered him at all. However, as the Houndoom ran, his keen senses picked up an odd vibration in the ground.

_Oh no…something's here…_He realized. _Something big!_

But there was no time for him to alert Alken, for a sudden vibration shook the mountain, causing the dark-type to stumble.

Down below, Tanya was rocked off her feet and nearly went over the edge, if not for Alken, who managed to dive forward and shove her to the safety of the wall.

"You…" Tanya panted. "You still…"

"Shhh!" Alken whispered. "I think something's…"

The next instant, a thunderous roar echoed throughout the mountain.

A massive dragon head burst out of the wall diagonally below them, one covered in a gray, rock-like hide. It eyes glowed with a deep red as they glanced around.

"Grrr…so there have been outsiders running around here." The dragon hissed in a deep voice.

As the rest of the quadrupled dragon's body emerged, everyone gasped in surprise at its huge wingspan and powerful body, which were at least 30 feet from head to tail.

"We're not looking to start a fight here!" Alken called, although he knew almost immediately that it was hopeless. A lot of the dragons he'd encountered in this Kanto region attacked any non-dragons upon sight, and especially hated Pokemon.

The rock-covered dragon had murder in his eyes as he spread his wings and flew a circle, coming back towards their location. With a whip of his massive tail, the Rock Dragon shook the entire mountainside.

"Garrgghh!" Alken and Tanya gripped the jagged edges of the wall in panic.

"Shadow Ball!" Abetos appeared from a higher ledge and spit a black orb of energy at the dragon.

His shot was true, smacking their foe right on the cheek. That caused the enraged dragon to turn his attention towards Abetos, who fired off a second shot before sprinting for cover.

The Rock Dragon rose quickly past Alken's position, although his tail still smacked into the wall and caused another rumbling.

"Abetos!" Alken yelled. He then turned towards Tanya. "Give me my weapon."

Tanya hesitated for a moment, leaving Alken standing there with his hand held out. Finally, she released the weapon, and the odd power that she felt within.

"Thanks." Alken lifted the gun in his arms. "Abetos! Coming your way!"

The tall man shook his ponytail out of the way before firing off several shots. With such a large opponent, there wasn't any real need to take aim first.

Alken's shots emerged as black energy bots, which pounded the Rock Dragon's back with miniature explosions. As the Rock Dragon howled in surprise, Abetos suddenly leapt off the cliff and came diving down, just in time to jab their foe in the snout.

Abetos was far too agile and even though the Rock Dragon snapped at him, the Houndoom easily evaded all the attacks.

"Over here!" Alken had climbed partially up and now shouted to his partner as they prepared to unleash Skiar.

"Hoero! Dragon Meld!" (Roar! Dragon Meld!) Both partners shouted at they leapt towards each other. The next instant, the pair were shrouded in individual swirls of purple energy.

* * *

"Storm?" Nightslice called.

There wasn't the slightest bit of hesitation as Firestorm looked back for a second, then continued walking out. The water level was now up to his waist level.

"What are you doing Storm?"

The Charizard didn't reply, but gazed out towards the deeper end. Nightslice gasped upon seeing the darker surface, indicating that the water there was much deeper. And Firestorm was moving right towards it…on his own will.

"Hey! Storm?" Nightslice was on his feet by now, the worst of scenarios playing through his mind.

All of a sudden, Firestorm leapt up. Clutching Dracia's body tightly, he changed directions in mid-leap and dove headfirst into the deep end, disappearing into the dark waters.

"NO!" Nightslice's screaming woke Kris and Jade, but the Scizor ignored their shouts and dashed out into the water.

_Storm couldn't be so depressed about Dracia that he would kill himself! It just can't be!_

Frantic with tension, Nightslice had almost reached the spot when a series of bubbles rose to the surface. Gasping wildly, Firestorm's head emerged from underwater, followed by the flaming tip of his tail. The Charizard's flames still burnt, although they looked a little weaker.

"Storm!" Nightslice swam over and pulled Firestorm to the shallow waters. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Hey relax…" Firestorm panted. "A bit of water won't kill a Charizard. Especially not me…after the way Kris used to train me."

"Are you crazy?" Jade waded over, followed closely by Kris. The two humans quickly helped Firestorm back to his feet.

"That was rather deep, even for you." Kris frowned. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"You still haven't answered my question." Nightslice interrupted. "What the heck were you…"

"Putting Dracia to rest." Firestorm smiled, shaking the water off his head.

That phrase stunned everyone else into silence.

"She came from the water, and so Dracia deserved to go back to it. I couldn't call myself her true friend if I was afraid to do that just because of my weakness to water."

For a while, no one said anything. Then, Jade slowly began to laugh.

"You're more complex that I thought." The blond haired man chuckled.

"Yes, I know Dracia would've appreciated it." Kris added in. "But you could have at least warned us first."

In response, Firestorm only looked back to the deep section of the underground lake. Beneath the waves was where Dracia's body had now been laid to rest. Born from the water and passing on as a dragon, there was no better final resting place Firestorm could think of than here, the Dragon's Den.

"Also, what do we do now?" Jade asked. "We're at a dead-end. We can't go back to face Kaiser now, that's for sure."

"Let's go back to the Alenky Lab." Nightslice suggested. "Zian will definitely want to know about the new information we've found out."

"I just hope we can get the teleporter to warp up to the right place." Kris lifted her sword. "Bahamut, Lombadra, we're counting on you."

_(Humph, don't underestimate us.) _Bahamut's voice growled. _(Just make sure you're rested up too so you have enough energy to channel into us.)_

* * *

When the light cleared, it was Skiar who'd taken Alken and Abetos' place.

A black dragon with a humanoid, bipedal form and razor-like claws…he was a sight to drive fear into the hearts of the weak-willed. However, the Rock Dragon wasn't one of these individuals, and howled in defiance.

Still, he did move back slightly and hover in the air as Skiar dug his claws into the rocky wall.

"W…what are you?" The Rock Dragon growled.

"This dragon is one of the legends." Skiar replied calmly. "Come! See for yourself if you have the power to defeat me!"

Suddenly, it seemed as if Skiar had vanished. The Rock Dragon was initially startled, but felt a hard kick to the back of his head, sending him spinning into the wall. Skiar had in fact used a Faint Attack, appearing from behind to strike his foe.

Unfrazzled, the Rock Dragon tore huge chunks of stone out of the mountain and hurled them at Skiar.

_(Incoming Rock Throw!) _Alken urged.

Skiar was already ahead of that, throwing off a Shadow Ball in the form of a black blob of energy. The attack easily shattered the boulder, but there was another surprise in store for the Dark elemental.

Instead of falling, the broken pieces swirled around Skiar and began smashing into him. The individual pieces weren't large, but they were sharp, cutting even Skiar's tough scales at multiple places. One piece also ricocheted off the metallic mask molded over Skiar's draconic face.

It wasn't enough to hurt him, but the impact had Skiar's ears ringing, which was a great disadvantage for someone who relied mostly on hearing.

The next instant, Skiar was suddenly knocked out of the air by his opponent, who'd cleared the distance between them in those few seconds. Skiar managed to upright himself in mid-air, and sensed a massive fist coming for him.

Agile as he was, Skiar didn't have the time to avoid the blow entirely. However, he did manage to leave a long cut across the Rock Dragon's arm before he was slammed into the mountainside.

Dazed, Skiar found himself coughing out blood as the Rock Dragon charged right for him.

"Hyper Beam!" Tanya roared, emerging from around a bend to hit the Rock Dragon in the face.

The massive beast was the one taken by surprise this time. His attempt to stop fell short, leaving him to crash headfirst into the mountainside. It was fortunate that Skiar had slipped out of the way moments earlier.

As the Rock Dragon peeled his face off the wall, Skiar literally ran up his side, slashing in all directions and leaving long cuts in the former's hide. He then took up a perch on top of the Rock Dragon's flat head, tauntingly stomping down with his foot.

In a fit of rage, the Rock Dragon brought his tail up and swung it with full force towards Skiar's location. Smirking, the dark dragon simply leapt away…leaving his foe to dimwittedly smack himself on the head.

With a final burst of strength, Skiar slashed through the tendons of the Rock Dragon's right wing. Distracted by the pain flooding into his mind, the Rock Dragon accidentally released his hold on the mountain wall, and started to fall. Only then did he realize he couldn't fly properly because of the damage Skiar had done to his wing.

As a result, the Rock Dragon fell with a long howl, quickly disappearing beneath the treetops that surrounded the mountain. The impact was huge, sending up a large cloud of dirt and uprooted plants.

Panting, Skiar landed on the cliff beside Tanya and gave her a firm nod.

"This dragon thanks you for the assistance."

"No, it's me who should be thanking you." Tanya replied.

However, a sudden roar had the pair looking up into the distance. The shadowed shapes of several large creatures could be seen approaching their position.

_(Damn, he must've called for backup.) _Alken muttered angrily.

And unfortunately, the cavern that held the teleport spot within had been destroyed during the fight. Using Skiar's strange senses to construct a black and white image of the surroundings, Alken could tell that there was no way for just the two of them to open the way quickly enough.

_(What do we do now then?) _Abetos wondered. _(Skiar can't possibly fight all of them off. Plus this is Dragon territory…more will keep coming!) _

"Perhaps there is a way." Tanya offered. "I've been to this area before and I remember there being an underground tunnel that connects to Mount Silver."

And Mount Silver belonged to the Johto territories. While it didn't guarantee safety, it was certainly better than being out here.

Nodding, Skiar split back into the forms of Alken and Abetos, who looked down at Tanya with interest.

"A tunnel from Mount Moon to Mount Silver." Alken rubbed his chin. "Sounds rather farfetched."

"Nothing's impossible in this world, I'm sure you've seen that." Abetos reminded him.

"Yeah, you're right." Alken glanced towards Tanya. "Lead the way."

"You're trusting me already?" Tanya asked. "After I just stole your…"

_(However, you did aid this dragon in the earlier fight.) _Skiar's voice sounded. _(This dragon feels that he can extend his trust to you.)_

"Let's work together." Alken held his hand out. "It would be beneficial to all of us."

"Hmmm…yes, I do agree." Tanya put her front paw into his hand. "The tunnel is this way."

As the trio started to run, Alken made a mental note to ask Tanya more about her past and this world once they were safe. Somehow, his gut feeling just told him that she knew a great deal more than anyone else they could've run into.

What he would eventually learn were the same things that Myollnir had told to Kris' group earlier. And also that the tunnel would take them all the way to a borderline town at the base of Mount Silver, inadvertently named Silver Town.

It so happened that Silver Town was a place another group was headed for at the moment…

* * *

"Well, this is it…" Hazuki muttered.

"Nice place." Nala agreed.

Their hitchhiked truck ride had finally come to an end in a village called Silver Town. Despite it being practically on the Johto and Kanto border, it was still relatively big and bustling with the activities of the Pokemon inhabitants.

The long hours of riding inside the bumpy truck had left their muscles cramped and sore. They'd also had to put up with the heat and sometimes rain, which leaked in through several small holes in the canvas roof. And there was the case of Riot and Gwyen constantly bickering.

However, it had also given the four some time to plan their next moves. Having been separated from their main group for so long, returning to the Alenky Lab was deemed to be an appropriate course of action. But finding a way to get back there was a whole other story entirely.

The communication devices that they'd received early on in their adventure had been damaged, leaving the group with no choice but to look for a teleport point, or make their way back on foot or wing. Neither one seemed too appealing, and the group knew it.

Even as they trudged wearily into the town square, the party of four was in for yet another surprise.

"I hate walking like this." Riot was complaining. "This really doesn't suit a flyer like me. I should probably be up there looking out for any…"

"Shh!" Hazuki suddenly raised her hand.

The entire group stopped and drew back into a nearby alleyway.

"What is it?" Nala lowered her voice.

"Look there." Hazuki gestured.

She was pointing to a large Blaziken standing across the street. While it could have been just any other Blaziken, Hazuki, Gwyen and Asiyu knew better. The imposing figure, blazing eyes and the way she carried herself…it was none other than Bashaamo.

_(It's definitely her.) _Asiyu confirmed. _(I can sense the energies of her Spirit Crystals.) _

_(Whom? That Blaziken?) _Erizar asked, confused. Unlike Asiyu, the Poison elemental dragon hadn't encountered the warrior in battle before.

"Is this the one you mentioned?" Riot queried. "Who works for the same fellows that got Erizar stuck in that ice cube?"

"Yes, and not to mention kidnapped Hazuki's sister too." Gwyen added in. "Wait, Asiyu…if you can sense her Spirit Crystals, then should she be able to sense yours too?"

_(In theory, yes, but look at her.) _Asiyu's voice sounded. _(Bashaamo seemed completely exhausted. I don't think she has enough energy to focus properly.)_

Indeed, even from their distance, it looked as if Bashaamo hadn't slept in days. It also seemed odd that an enemy commander would be walking around some town all alone, without any real sense of purpose. All Bashaamo was doing was browsing through the roadside stalls.

"I don't know what's with her, but we should be able to take her out this time." Hazuki muttered, stepping forward.

"Wait Hazuki." Nala tugged her arm. "We can't afford to start a fight in the middle of town and draw so much attention to ourselves. I know you're worried about you little sister, but we won't be able to do anything if we get into too much trouble ourselves."

"Yes, you are right." Hazuki sighed.

"Don't look now guys, but I think some other Pokemon have taken interest in Bashaamo." Gwyen spoke up. "Check out dumb and dumber over there."

She'd been referring to an Aggron and Rhydon pair who were lumbering into the town square, making absolutely no attempt to be inconspicuous.

Another pair of unfortunately familiar faces, Sano and Uno, who'd been outwitted by Hazuki and Gwyen on a recent encounter. It startled Hazuki about how quickly the two had caught up with them.

Bashaamo seemed to take notice of the pair too and immediately disappeared from the scene.

"Something is going on with those few." Nala remarked. "They're supposed to be allies right?"

"Allow me to take a closer look." Riot offered.

"No, I'll go." Gwyen moved forward. "We need to be close enough to eavesdrop on anything they say. I can do that better than you."

"But…"

"Gwyen's right." Nala agreed. "Let her do this for once."

"Thanks." The Suicune breathed.

Without wasting any more time, she nimbly scaled the nearest wall and leapt up onto the roof. Gwyen then jumped from rooftop to rooftop until she was at the one above Sano and Uno's heads. The water elemental silently dropped down onto the fire escape and crouched behind the ledge.

Sano and Uno were talking relatively loudly, but Gwyen still had to strain her sensitive hearing to catch every word.

"I don't see that Blaziken anywhere." Uno the Rhydon glanced around again.

"According to this device, she's here…or at least her Spirit Crystals are." His Aggron partner replied, holding up an electronic scanner.

"I sure don't see her."

"That's because she's hiding duh! Bashaamo is well trained, so she won't be so easy to find."

"Yeah, but if we can get that little human girl back from her, we'll be reaping in the rewards, right?"

"If we can find her before the other search teams do." Sano frowned. "There are quite a few in this town itself, if I remember."

"Hey, be a little more optimistic bro." Uno patted his shoulder. "If we can pull this off, we'll be able to get back in Juncan's favor!"

"Yeah, you're right. Let's keep searching."

As the two begun to walk away, Gwyen emerged from her hiding place.

"Hmm…interesting developments." The Suicune grinned, before taking to the roof again. She had a lot to tell Hazuki and the others now.


	26. A Rescue in Peril

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**A Rescue in Peril**

By nightdragon0

"So it wasn't us that they came here for." Hazuki gasped. "It was Bashaamo!"

"Sounds like she's had some kind of fall out from that group." Nala agreed. "However, why would she take Yusia away from the rest of Kaiser's troops? I can't think of a particular reason for it."

"I'm not too worried about that, but now I'm so close to being able to save Yusia!" Hazuki looked up. "If she's really being held by Bashaamo, and Bashaamo is in this town…"

"That must mean Yusia is likely to be here as well." Riot realized, flapping her wings about in excitement.

"All we have to do is find her." Gwyen beamed. "But that's the hard part right? Dumb and dumber back there were using a scanner, and they still couldn't track her exact location. We just got lucky because we spotted Bashaamo directly."

"Hmmm…" Hazuki lowered her head in thought, her eyes falling upon the Ankh that held Asiyu's Spirit Crystal. "Hey Asiyu, you sensed Bashaamo's Spirit Crystals earlier, didn't you?"

_(Yes…)_

"Can you do it again?"

_(Certainly. However if I openly exercise more of my power, I risk not only Bashaamo detecting me in return, but also alerting those scanners of Kaiser's troops.)_

"Oh yeah…" Hazuki's face fell.

"Actually, that's not a difficult problem to solve." Nala raised a hand. "All we need is a distraction."

"With all due respect, we can't possibly hope to catch the attention of all the search teams in this town at once." Riot cut in.

"I was talking more along the lines of unleashing Spirit energy to draw their scanners towards us." Nala informed the Aerodactyl. "We'll just Dragon Meld! That'll definitely send all the search teams flocking to us like Beedrill to honey."

_(Now that sounds like a plan.) _Erizar remarked.

"Of course." Nala winked. "You know all those old Godzilla movies where he goes round trashing towns? We'll just do the same thing. It's sure to catch everybody's attention, leaving you guys time to go and rescue Yusia."

"Hey, you're volunteering to be the bait?" Gwyen gasped.

"Let us…" Hazuki began.

"No, Yusia needs **you** to rescue her." Nala faced the shorter girl and placed both hands on her shoulders. "Gwyen, Asiyu and yourself should go. Leave the distraction to us."

"It does expose you guys to a high chance of being captured again." Hazuki said with concern. "And we just had to rescue you."

"Don't worry, lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice." Nala assured. "We'll just smash up a few things and de-meld, then slip out in the wake of the confusion. Nothing to it!"

_(I promise not to hurt any innocent bystanders too.) _Erizar added in.

"Thanks Nala." Hazuki hesitated for a while before hugging her close friend and comrade.

"So, this is where we part ways again." Riot turned to Gwyen. "Well…"

"Well what?" The Suicune growled.

"Good luck."

"Yeah…you too…"

The two Pokemon stared at each other for a while longer.

"Humph!" Both huffed and looked away.

"Bimbo!"

"Air-head!"

That got Hazuki and Nala laughing again. And a well needed one before all the intense battles they were about to go through.

* * *

_(Keep focusing…) _Bahamut's voice instructed. _(Yeah, that's it.)_

Kris had her eyes closed and her sword held out above the rune-decorated circle on the ground. Nightslice too had his claw placed over his partner's Spirit Weapon.

Those runes represented the teleport point that they'd entered the Dragon's Den through. Now, the party was trying to open a link back to the Alenky Labs. Or more specifically, a mountain close to the labs, which was the closest teleport spot to their destination that the group knew of.

Beside them, Jade and Firestorm were doing the same, though they didn't seem as well focused.

"I think it's working!" Nightslice muttered, watching as the circle of runes begun to glow.

"Don't lose focus." Kris reminded him.

Images of various places she'd been to flashed through her mind. There was that room with the teleport point in the Silph building, the cave around the Saffron Forest, their current spot and even some others that she couldn't recognize.

Finally, the image of the Secret garden guarded by the Latias and Latios twins, Ryan and Rynn, came into mind. That was the one they wanted to go to.

But just as Kris finalized the location in her mind, she suddenly felt a great burst of energy. It was definitely Spirit Crystal energy, and a great amount of it too…almost as if someone were Dragon Melding reasonably close by.

The teleportation process had put their senses on the same 'plane' as the Spirit energies, allowing them to feel something that they normally would not have.

However, the thought passed in an instant, and it was too late to stop the teleportation even if she had wanted to. Next thing the ninja knew, she'd been thrown into a dark void, spinning away into the darkness beyond.

* * *

"Emmm…" Rynn yawned, rising from her spot on the pile of straw.

It was night and everything was dark in the Secret Garden that she shared with her brother. The fountain in the center and the lampposts surrounding the perimeter were working fine, with the various trees and plants swaying in the breeze. The stone ornaments and benches remained in their set positions, as always.

However, a strange tingling was what had awakened the dragoness. As she blinked in the dim lighting, Rynn's eyes slowly begun to adjust and she gasped in shock.

The circle of runes that decorated a raised platform nearby were glowing with a soft, white light. That meant that the teleport point was being activated. Perhaps Kris' or Jade's parties were coming back…or maybe something else.

That part of their home had been recently modified. Previously, the teleport point had been hidden beyond a set of underwater passages. The twins had spent a lot of time smashing through the rocky walls there until they'd opened up a path all the way to the teleport point.

"Ryan! Ryan!" The Latias cried excitedly, shaking her brother's sleeping form. "Wake up! Something's happening to the teleporter!"

The blue scaled Latios had chosen to sleep close to the runes, just to be prepared in case anything happened. But now that there was the necessity, he wasn't waking up at all.

"Ugghh…go back to sleep sis." Ryan muttered.

"No, Ryan! Wake up! It's important!"

"Rynn…be quiet…"

"Ryan! Ryan!" The Latias continued shaking her brother. "Uh oh!"

Throughout Rynn's failed attempt to wake her twin, the runes had been growing brighter and brighter. Rynn flipped away on reflex as a bright flash emitted.

"Garrrggghhh!"

Seconds after that, Ryan was literally thumped awake to find himself at the bottom of a pile of a Scizor, a Charizard and two humans.

"That was rather ungraceful…" Kris sighed.

"Arrggh! I can't breathe!" Jade cried, second from the bottom of the pile up.

"Dammit! Get your foot out of my face!" Firestorm yelled.

"Get your tail out of mine!" Nightslice retorted. "And watch that flame of yours!"

"Shut up will ya?"

"Hey, you were shouting at me first!"

"Wanna make something of it?"

"Yeah, you know what these are?" Nightslice raised his arms. "They're called pincers!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Watch me! Harghh!"

CLOMP! Nightslice clamped a pincer down on Firestorm's tail.

"Garrghh! You! Rarrgghh!"

Firestorm and Nightslice immediately began wrestling, throwing Kris and Jade aside and further squashing Ryan into the ground.

"I tried to warn you." Rynn giggled from the side.

"Oh be quiet." Ryan moaned unhappily.

* * *

"Should be any moment now." Hazuki whispered.

Gwyen and herself were crouched behind a fruit stand, waiting for the event that they knew was about to occur. Erizar had agreed to start at the row of warehouses they'd been hanging around earlier and try not to cause 'too much' damage during her 'rampage'.

Right on cue, a thunderous roar sounded from across the town square.

A three headed hydra-type dragon had suddenly appeared from nowhere, smashing down buildings and sending the general Pokemon population fleeing in all directions. Standing up to 8 feet at her full height and neck length, Erizar was pretty much the largest Legendary Dragon that could be summoned by the ragtag group.

Although two of the heads were controlled by Nala and Riot, all three still worked in unison, spraying their acidic breaths around.

"There's Sano and Uno." Gwyen pointed with her snout.

A rampaging dragon had certainly caught the pair's attention. The Aggron and Rhydon pair were amongst the few Pokemon running towards the chaos instead of away from it.

_(Now that Erizar is the center of attraction, we'd best start scanning for Bashaamo.) _Asiyu's voice suggested.

"Yes, you're right." Hazuki raised the Ankh above her head and begun to focus.

The weapon shimmered with an icy-blue glow for a few moments. Then, Hazuki, under the influence of Asiyu's power, pointed it towards one of the adjacent streets.

_(I have a lock on the Flying and Fighting type Spirit Crystals_ _Bashaamo holds.) _Asiyu informed them. _(That way!)_

"Get on, quick!" Gwyen lowered her body to allow Hazuki to mount her.

Hazuki quickly complied, taking hold of Gwyen's purple mane, so as not to fall as the Suicune sped off.

* * *

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see this place again." Kris whistled as the party strolled into town.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Jade agreed. "Home, sweet home."

This realm's version of the Hoenn region was isolated enough to have avoided most of the Kanto/Johto conflict. It meant that the party could walk around freely, unlike the Kanto region especially.

However, it was Jade's comment that made all four stop for a moment, exchanging glances with one another. Having been so caught up in the conflict of this realm, all of them had barely any time to miss their own world, or even think of returning for that matter.

Not until they defeated Kaiser once again…and this time for good.

_(What's up with you all?) _Bahamut's voice interrupted.

_(Yeah, why the sudden stop?) _Lombadra added in.

The revived Legendary Dragons didn't really understand the mutual feelings that ran amongst the group of four, who'd been together for so long.

"Nothing…" Nightslice finally spoke up. "Just reminiscing."

"In a way, yes…reminiscing." Firestorm nodded, continuing to walk.

The party had just reached the front door of the lab when a slim, yellow-skinned Pokemon abruptly teleported in front of them.

"Hello guys! It's been a while!" Epsilon waved.

Unfortunately, that had the effect of causing the party to fall backwards in surprise.

"Oops! Did I scare you guys?"

"YES!" Everyone yelled angrily.

* * *

"Grrr…I was worried about you lot!" Zian growled.

"It's not like I wanted to break the communicator on purpose." Kris protested. "I was fighting for my life in that arena!"

"And mine got busted during one of those fights at the Charisific Valley." Jade waved his hands, holding up his wrist communicator, which had its face smashed in. "Besides, they didn't do us much good once we got too far away. Too much interference."

"I suppose that's true…" Zian muttered.

"It's only natural instinct." Cid remarked, walking into the room with a tray of hot drinks. "When you've been waiting with no news. We haven't heard from Nala or Hazuki recently either."

"I do believe that they're taking care of themselves." Jade managed a grin. "Both of them are tough for girls their age."

"And what does that make me?" Kris shot him an odd glance.

"A demon?"

"Oh thanks a lot!"

Kris' group had gathered in the living room, together with their other comrades who stayed at the labs. That consisted of Epsilon the Alakazam, Cid, a human researcher who'd been thrown into this realm long before they had, and Zian, one of the surviving Legendary Dragons who'd been crippled and paralyzed from his neck downwards.

Despite all the things that had been happening in Johto and Kanto, it was relatively quiet in the Hoenn region. That probably meant that Hoenn was not a region that had a large role in Kaiser's plans.

"By the way, this letter came in about three days ago, addressed to Firestorm and Nightslice." Cid raised an envelope.

"Us?" Firestorm took the letter and tore it open, taking extra care because of his sharp claws.

"Who's it from?" Nightslice glanced over the Charizard's shoulder.

"Garrick and Vance!"

"I take it that you still remember them from the Sacred Fields." Nightslice muttered.

"Oh how could I ever forget?" Firestorm growled. "Let's see…they're requesting our help because they're having some problems…with Juncan?"

"Juncan? He's back here already?"

"Apparently so. And Juncan has been sending threats to them because he still has the Grass Key."

"The Grass Key?" Nightslice tapped the side of his head with a pincer. "Oh that's the key that allowed us access into the Sacred Fields in the first place! But didn't Garrick have the Key? Remember when we first entered? He took it from us."

"Yeah, according to the letter, Juncan was first able to gain access using his Grass Spirit Crystal, but only because of the trances of energy left at the hidden gate when we opened it earlier. However, it's been a long time since anyone opened the gate, so Juncan needs to use the Grass Key to do so."

"Meaning Juncan probably snatched it from Garrick when he captured us."

"That's not good." Firestorm growled.

"I agree." Nightslice nodded. "It's lucky that he didn't try anything while we were away."

"According to Garrick here, Juncan has just made threats, but no demands. And sounded rather vexed when he did."

"Seems like he's in a bad mood." Jade laughed, even though he barely knew what was going on. "For all we know, Juncan had a bad run-in with Hazuki or Nala."

"It's something I wouldn't put past being impossible." Kris remarked.

"So let's cut to the chase. We're helping him out, right?" Firestorm asked.

"Hey, definitely. Juncan has no qualms about hurting innocent civilians." Nightslice immediately replied. "And in Garrick's place, there are a lot of them."

"Yeah. Besides that, I'm itching to get back at Juncan for the humiliation he put us through!" Firestorm gritted his fangs.

"If you're headed out again, we'll keep watch here." Zian informed them. "Just hurry back. With Kaiser on the move now, there's no telling when or where he'll pop up again."

"Why don't you guys hang on to this?" Jade placed the Rock Spirit Crystal, which he'd acquired back in the Charisific Valley, down on the table. "It might help with your research or something."

"Sounds fine with me." Epsilon took the crystal.

"Just be careful you guys." Cid added in. "We'll be waiting."

And so, the party headed right back out the door, on to yet another confrontation. As they did however, Kris and Jade approached their respective partners of Nightslice and Firestorm.

"So, mind filling us in on this little adventure that we missed?" Kris tapped their shoulders.

"Erm…" The Scizor and Charizard moaned nervously.

* * *

"You know, I'm actually enjoying this." Erizar remarked. "Although I don't see why you people write stories about it."

"It is rather fun." The head controlled by Nala admitted.

"Fun being the bad guy for once." Riot's head licked her lips, having just blown down the side of a building with her acid breath.

"Hey you!" Heavy footsteps sounded as Sano and Uno ran towards Erizar.

"Looks like the plan's working." Nala whispered to the other two heads, who nodded discretely in response.

"You! You're that dragon that escaped from the freezer the other day!" Sano gestured.

"I'm so pleased you remember me." Erizar smirked. "And you would be? Ah yes, the two clowns that **let **me escape in the first place."

"Erm…yeah, that's right!" Sano blurted out.

"Idiot, she was insulting you!" Uno smacked the back of his partner's head. "Come on! Let's take her!"

"Yeah! Harrggghhh!" Sano dug his claws into the ground and came up with a huge chunk of pavement, hurling it towards Erizar.

"Acid!" Nala and Riot's heads lurched forward and sprayed the rocks with a toxic breath that disintegrated them.

"Sludge Bomb!" Erizar launched a purple blob from her jaws, which splattered all over the dino pair.

Although the goop stung their hides, the two dinos were not about to back down.

"Double Earthquake!" They roared together, leaping up and stomping the ground. Huge fissures ran across the street as the Earthquake attack looked poised to hit Erizar head-on.

"Not yet!" Erizar declared.

The Legendary Dragon jumped just before the attack hit and unleashed an Earthquake attack of her own the moment she hit the ground again.

"Garrgghh!" The dino pair staggered from the force of the attack.

Erizar swiftly cleared the distance between them and swung her tail, smacking Uno against a dumpster. Sano had already managed to recover from the Earthquake and sank his fangs into Erizar's right forelimb, biting down hard.

Howling in pain, Erizar threw her entire body weight against the steel type Aggron, hurling him into his comrade. The poison type dragon then changed directions and smashed her way though a nearby wall.

"Hey! Get back here!" Sano and Uno yelled as Erizar's tail disappeared into the warehouse.

The dino pair followed in a fit of rage and found themselves stopping short. With the exception of the large hole in the wall, nothing else looked out of place. The warehouse was dim and quiet, without even the slightest flicker of movement.

"Huh? Where'd she go?" Sano wondered. "She couldn't have just disappeared!"

"Let's have a closer look." Uno suggested.

As the pair walked into the center of the room, a sudden scraping caught their attention. A small shelf to their left fell with a loud crash.

"There you are!" Uno growled, spotting a humanoid figure crouched between the crates.

The dinos advanced, but didn't get very far. An Aerodactyl abruptly swooped down from one of the higher storage shelves, raking both their faces with her claws.

"Rarrggghh!"

As Sano and Uno stumbled in pain, Nala emerged from her hiding spot and dashed past, firing her twin pistols at the base of another shelf. That resulted in a domino effect which toppled one shelf after another, finally ending with one that squashed Sano and Uno beneath.

Weighed down by tons of heavy electronic equipment, the dinos could only roar in fury as Nala and Riot left them in the dust.

"Great one!" Nala gave a high-five to the rear talon of her partner.

"Most certainly agreed." Riot winked.

However, their celebration was short-lived. Upon exiting through the hole Erizar had made, Nala and Riot were treated to an alarming sight.

A large group of Pokemon, all glaring angrily at them.

"Are they the ones?" A black and gray, wolf-like Mightyena snarled.

"Rawwrr…scanner sure shows the spirit energy." A second Mightyena replied, checking a silver watch-like device strapped to his right forepaw.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Screeched a Swellow, who was perched nearby. This Pokemon took the form of a large, blue feathered bird with a white coloring at its chest.

"Oh sh…" Nala and Riot cried as the entire Pokemon group swarmed them at once.

* * *

"Come on, where is she?" Hazuki muttered frantically.

From their position on the building's roof, Hazuki and Gwyen carefully surveyed the scene. Although with the crowds of Pokemon running about, it was hard to make out anything at all.

"Man, do you think Bashaamo is hiding or running along with the crowd?" Gwyen asked.

"I really don't know." Hazuki sighed. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea…wait! Look there!"

Slipping into an alleyway further down the street was the distinctive red form of a Blaziken, one holding what seemed to be a smaller figure wrapped in a brown cloak.

"Yusia!" Hazuki screamed. "Yusia!"

"At least let me get closer before you start yelling again." Gwyen told her partner. "Now hang on tight!"

Still mounted on Gwyen's back, Hazuki once again took hold of the mane as the Suicune started leaping from roof to roof.

Gwyen quickly cleared each building with ease and was above Bashaamo's position in a matter of seconds. However, both the rider and the Pokemon had failed to notice the figure crouched behind the stack of crates there.

That was, until he swung a massive fist at them.

"Ragi…" Was all Gwyen could get off before she was knocked off the roof.

Hazuki screamed as she fell off Gwyen's back in the confusion. Fortunately, she was nimble enough to grab hold of a balcony's railings and remained dangling there in a state of shock. Gwyen had taken the brunt of Raguragi's attack and hit the pavement hard, leaving the impression of her body in it.

That so happened to be just in front of Bashaamo and Yusia, who stopped in surprise. The Swampert then dropped down from the roof, facing the other Pokemon with a ferocious growl.

"Dammit…" Gwyen cursed under her breath.

Hazuki and her had been so focused on finding Bashaamo that they'd directed all of Asiyu's energy towards seeking out the two crystals of Fighting and Flying elements…leaving any others undetected. However, because of the large amounts of Spirit energy that process had generated, it had given Raguragi, who held the Water and Ground Crystals, the opportunity to locate them easily.

"Found you at last!" Raguragi snarled. "Mud Shot!"

Gwyen howled, receiving the attack right in the face. The impact sent her rolling backwards, ending up on her belly and facing Bashaamo.

All of a sudden, the Blaziken was charging towards her with flaming fists. Cringing, Gwyen prepared for the worst.

"Get down!" Bashaamo ordered.

The Suicune was so stunned that she just did as she was told to.

Bashaamo's Fire Punch went right over Gwyen's head and stopped another Mud Shot in its tracks. Immediately after that, Raguragi lunged forward, locking claws with Bashaamo as they struggled.

With their powerful muscles rippling, the former allies butted heads, neither one wanting to give in. Being the more agile of the two, Bashaamo was able to balance herself on one leg and use the other one to knee her opponent in the chest.

Raguragi grunted, stumbling backwards. Undaunted, he quickly pulled himself up and lashed out with an icy fist…Ice Punch. Bashaamo countered with a rising uppercut that knocked the fist aside.

"Earthquake!" Raguragi then brought both hands down in a maneuver that shook the ground, creating dozens of cracks in the road.

However, Bashaamo was already in the air, spinning and twirling into a Blaze Kick maneuver that caught the Swampert in the face.

"Harrgghh!" From the balcony she'd puller herself up onto, Hazuki raised her Ankh and fired an Ice Beam. A layer of frost covered the road behind Raguragi, causing him to slip upon contact.

But Raguragi did get off one final Mud Shot, which knocked Hazuki off the balcony and sent her plummeting into dumpster. At the same time, the massive Swampert was slammed into a wall and stunned by the impact.

"Sis! Gwyen!" Yusia had retreated to the far end of the alley earlier. Now she came running over, calling out for Hazuki and Gwyen.

"Yusia!" Gwyen shouted with a leap of joy, even though her body was still aching.

"Oh thank god you're all right!" Hazuki cried, jumping out of the dumpster.

Unfortunately, their reunion was not to be, for a dark shrouded shape leapt between the group. A black colored Scizor radiating a powerful evil aura….Kaiser himself was here.

* * *

"Garrgghh!" Nala barely dodged the snapping fangs of a Mightyena. "We've got to get out of here!"

"I second that!" Riot whipped her tail at the eyes of a Swellow. "Hop on!"

Still in mid-flight, Riot performed a 180 degree turn and swooped down, causing several land-based Pokemon to scatter with the beating of her wings. Nala leapt forward, throwing herself onto the dactyl's back as the flyer raced past, taking them both out of the disorderly melee they'd been caught up in.

Riot flapped faster, whizzing down roads and cutting in-between buildings. Nala held on for all that she was worth, feeling the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

Since becoming acquainted back in their own world, Riot had tried these aerial stunts in all sorts of places, of course with Nala as her rider.

_Left…right…right…up! _Nala mentally noted the directions.

Even though they'd done these stunts many times before, each 'race' was still a new experience. Especially so if one was running for one's life.

"I think we're almost out of town!" Nala shouted over the howling winds.

"Yeah! Just up ahead!" Came Riot's reply.

The pair rounded the next corner to find a large pile of rubble blocking the road. Since she was flying close to ground level, Riot instinctively pulled up in order to avoid an imminent crash.

Unfortunately, that was the moment a large metallic net was thrown from one of the adjacent building's windows and right into their path. Unable to change course in time, Riot got herself completely tangled up, sending her spinning wildly out of control.

Even in the midst of her screaming, Nala saw the gray concrete of the town's roads give way to the brown dirt and green grass of the surrounding forest.

"Tree!" Nala yelled. "Watch out!"

"Can't…control!" Riot protested. "Yyyarrrggghhhh!"

WHAM!

A painful sounding crunch rang out as Riot's head slammed into the huge tree. The dactyl then slid down to the ground with a long moan. Any other Pokemon might've broken their skull, but Riot was part Rock type and possessed a rather thick head.

At the same time, she did manage to shield Nala from the worst of the blow.

"Arrgghhh…oowww…." Nala moaned, shaking the stars out of her vision. "Who put that there?"

"What an extraordinary landing." A sarcastic voice from nearby was accompanied by the sound of clapping.

Out of the shadows walked a tall, humanoid green dragon, waving his fan-tipped tail in glee. This was the Gale Dragon, Citraz, one of Kaiser's commanders.

"Damn…you set up that trap for us!" Nala muttered in disbelief.

"So right you are, girl." The green dragon laughed. "The name is Citraz, most delighted to make your acquaintance."

_(That voice…) _Erizar whispered. _(Remember the troops that captured us at the healing spring? He was their leader! I'm sure of it!)_

"Oh?" Citraz scratched his head. "You mean that three-headed dragon? That was you? Fancy how a bunch of brats like you would turn into that."

Several of the Mightyena and Swellow they'd fended off earlier were now approaching the scene. The troops were definitely intent on preventing their escape this time.

A quick check showed Riot to still be quite dazed from the crash. The Aerodactyl would not be flying off any time soon, leaving only one other option.

"Dragon Meld! Unleash!" Nala invoked the powers of the Spirit Crystal contained within her twin pistols.

The merging process changed both Nala and Riot's forms into that of the hydra-like Legendary Dragon Erizar. But the Poison type dragon's poise to meet any attack was immediately met with a rude interruption.

Being much heavier than Nala and Riot's weight combined, a hidden pitfall trap beneath Erizar's feet was consequently triggered. All three heads let off a simultaneous yelp of surprise as they suddenly found themselves stuck up to their necks in the pit.

"The wonders that Dugtrio can do." Citraz laughed as several of the brown, thumb-shaped moles popped out of the ground.

"Garrgghh!" Erizar struggled. "I can't get out!"

"Crap! He was deliberately provoking us to Dragon Meld!" Nala moaned. "And we fell for it like idiots!"

"Whatever happened to the lightning not striking in the same place twice?" Riot asked.

"Erm…three's a charm?"

"Get them!" Citraz ordered.

The three heads immediately sprayed their venomous breaths in a last ditch attempt to defend themselves. However, taking into consideration the number of enemies and the fact that they were stuck in one spot, the situation did not look good.

It would be a brief fight…going in favor of the opposition…

* * *

_(No…it can't be!) _Asiyu gasped in disbelief.

"What?" Gwyen muttered.

_(That aura…there's no mistaking it!) _Asiyu confirmed. _(That's…that's Kaiser!)_

"That's who we're supposed to be fighting?"

"You…you haven't felt his power close up before." Hazuki shook her head and clenched her fists.

Yusia screamed and backed away at the sight, but not for very long however. Kaiser raised a claw and slammed it against the ground, sending out a wave of purple energy that knocked Yusia into a deep sleep.

"Yusia!" Hazuki screamed.

It would've affected Hazuki and Gwyen as well, if not for Asiyu's quick thinking. She countered by emitting an icy blue veil of energy that not only nullified Kaiser's sleeping spell, but gave them time to Dragon Meld as well.

_(That was a close one.) _Gwyen breathed.

_(But Yusia is…) _Hazuki began.

_(She's just asleep for now.) _Gwyen noted. _(But I think Asiyu has to worry about herself right now.)_

_(Yeah, I'm sorry. Go for it Asiyu!)_

"That's what I've been waiting to hear!" Now in her true dragon body, Asiyu roared and lunged towards her foe.

Kaiser met the attack head on in a fury of claw to pincer slashes. Despite how fast Asiyu seemed, Kaiser was soon making two attacks to every one of hers, forcing the Ice Dragon to go onto the defensive.

_(It's not working!)_ Hazuki's voice realized. _(Pull away!)_

A little too late, Asiyu tried to move, but received a roundhouse kick to the face. The ice elemental dragon went spinning to the ground, spitting out blood and a snapped tooth.

"Ice Beam!" Asiyu growled, firing off an ice-based attack from her claws.

All of a sudden, Kaiser had seemingly disappeared from the spot he'd been standing on.

"What the?"

"Watch out!" Bashaamo called from across the area.

In the blink of an eye, Kaiser came leaping in, leaving a bloodied scar across Asiyu's back. The black Scizor did this again and again, further pounding Asiyu to the very limits of her stamina.

"Flamethrower!" Bashaamo roared, forcing Kaiser to break out of his attack sequence and evade the fire elemental strike.

"You would dare attack me?" Kaiser fumed, glaring at the small burn wound on his left shoulder.

"That and more!" Bashaamo launched two punches and a kick, which Kaiser easily avoided, before locking claws with her former master.

"You don't stand a chance!" Kaiser taunted.

"We shall see!" Bashaamo pushed him off.

Kaiser skidded backwards, bracing himself against the ground. The dark Scizor then brought both claws up, charging a shimmering energy orb within them. In response, Bashaamo raised her hands as well…with a crystal clutched in each one.

"The Fighting and Flying elemental Spirit Crystals!" Asiyu realized.

Bashaamo's energy orb shot forward and pushed against Kaiser's, who certainly hadn't been expecting such a retaliation. In rage, the dark Pokemon shoved back with all his might, the energies building up to a critical level.

"Go!" Bashaamo turned her head towards Asiyu. "Take the human child and leave! Far away from this place!"

"But what about you?" Asiyu asked.

"Don't worry about me! Just go!"

_(We…we can't just leave you like this!) _Hazuki protested. _(It's just…it's just…not right to!) _

"Hazuki…" The Legendary Ice Dragon whispered.


	27. Trapped for a Trap

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Trapped for a Trap**

By nightdragon0

"This is the place all right." Firestorm nodded, glancing around the forest.

The hidden entrance to the sacred fields was located amongst the trees here, just a few miles from the Alenky Labs.

It had taken the group about a day to make the trip, having flown part of the way at the expense of their much needed energy. But everyone had deemed it necessary considering the urgency of Garrick's message…and now they saw why.

It looked like several skirmishes had recently taken place in the area, with broken trees, charred patches of grass and uprooted plants lying all around.

"Hey! Firestorm! Nightslice!" A voice called from above.

"Is that Vance?" Firestorm's head jerked up.

A greenish blur suddenly shot out of the sky. Nightslice was swift enough to step aside, but Firestorm wasn't nearly as agile and Vance knocked him head over heels, ending up standing on the Charizard's belly.

"Erm, hi there!" Vance beamed. "Sorry, got kinda over-excited."

"Yeah, I figured." Firestorm grumbled, heaving up and tossing the Flygon off.

"Still the same as always." Nightslice laughed.

"It's good to see you again." A small four-legged dinosaur, a Bulbasaur, stepped out of the bush. "You have my gratitude for coming to here."

"So you're Garrick?" Kris knelt down. "This fellow here is Jade, and my name is Kris. We're battle partners with Nightslice and Firestorm."

"A lot more than that actually." Jade added in.

"So they've told us." Garrick nodded. "But we shouldn't talk out here where any undesired listeners may be present. The Sacred Fields will be safer, but even then they're not entirely secure for the moment."

Nodding, the group watched as Garrick raised one of his vines and waved it about. A greenish light appeared between a couple of trees, indicating that the portal had appeared.

"Please, this way…" He gestured.

* * *

As much as Hazuki desired to save her sister, she just couldn't bring herself to leave the situation as it was. She realized now that Bashaamo had helped them so much. It had been in fact, she who had freed Yusia and kept her hidden from Kaiser's troops.

Now she was willing to sacrifice herself so they could escape…

_(We have to help her!) _Hazuki declared.

"Just what I thought you'd say." Asiyu grinned.

"What are you doing?" Bashaamo yelled as the ice dragon thrust her claws into the mass of swirling energies.

"We can do this together." Asiyu gritted her fangs. "We can beat him!"

"Humph, have it your way then."

All three combatants screeched and grunted, focusing their powers into the swirling mass that represented the center point of the clash. The glowing orb grew brighter and bigger as more power was channeled into it.

Even Kaiser was struggling and for a while, it seemed as if he might've lost. Unfortunately, everyone had forgotten the last factor Kaiser had in his favor… Raguragi.

Asiyu only realized the critical mistake from the Swampert's roar.

But by this time, it was already too late. Raguragi raised his two crystals, representing the Water and Ground elements, and fired off a beam from each one. Rather than shoot them into the center of the energy mass, Raguragi blasted Asiyu in the back instead.

The dragoness crashed right through the nearest wall with a howl of agony. Some of her bones had definitely snapped and blood was getting into her eyes too.

However, even that wasn't her greatest concern. For Bashaamo was now left all alone against the massive convergence of energy that they'd created. Bashaamo neither tried to run nor resist it any longer. All she could do was direct one final Fire Blast projectile against Raguragi, hurling the Swampert against the wall.

Seconds later, the gigantic energy orb detonated around her.

_(No!) _Hazuki and Gwyen screamed.

At the last moment, the Blaziken looked directly towards them with a warm smile.

_I can finally…see my…son again…_Bashaamo's voice echoed as she disappeared into the explosion.

The force of the blast was so powerful that it shoved Asiyu along the floor and out through the building's window to the main street. The red-stained ice dragon was smashed into a bloodied crater of broken bones.

Raguragi barely had enough time to shield himself while Kaiser did the same. Only thing was, the dark Scizor made sure to shield Yusia's unconscious form as well.

When the dust cleared, Raguragi found his master staggering unsteadily to his feet. Behind him lay Yusia, completely unharmed. Asiyu was sprawled outside the alleyway, barely even conscious.

"Master!" Raguragi limped over, one hand clutching his side.

Kaiser lifted Yusia carefully onto his own shoulder and gestured to Asiyu's limp form. The dark Scizor intended to have Raguragi take the ice Spirit Crystal, but a series of loud noises quickly caused him to reconsider.

The explosion had attracted the attention of the local Pokemon. By this time, the trained guards had gotten organized and were sweeping the area. The first thing they saw was Asiyu's battered body and immediately jumped in to attack.

"Look! It's a dragon!"

"That must be the one!"

"Hurry! Get it!"

Asiyu was instantly swarmed and mercilessly battered into submission. All she could do was cry out in agony. Even though Hazuki and Gwyen didn't physically feel Asiyu's pain, their energies were tremendously drained too…leaving them to helplessly watch through Asiyu's eyes.

"We'll leave the ice crystal for now." Kaiser decided, handing Yusia's body to Raguragi. "Have your troops take the crystal, once the locals are, how shall we say it? Done with her."

"Of course master." Raguragi grinned.

Retrieving Bashaamo's Fighting and Flying element crystals, Kaiser and Raguragi quietly departed…leaving Asiyu to her fate.

"Yu….si…a…." The Ice Dragon whispered in despair.

* * *

"It really is a beautiful place." Kris remarked as she finished a brief walk around the garden.

The fields were exactly as Firestorm and Nightslice remembered, except without the two of them 'decorating' the scenery. In fact, this was probably one of the longest times that they'd actually stood here without being attacked by vines or being rooted to the spot.

Nightslice shuddered and shook the thought off.

Meanwhile, Garrick had been updating everyone on the situation. But even the guardian didn't have much more to say than he did in the letter. Only that Juncan and some of his troops had been showing up recently, about every three to four days. A few brief struggles had ensued, but Garrick and Vance felt that they would not be able to keep resisting for much longer.

A majority of the grass-type Pokemon that once inhabited the fields had already vacated, presumably sent away by Garrick for their own safety. That left only themselves and the sacred tree to worry about.

"What do you think Kris?" Jade asked, discussing their plan of action. "Should we just bring it up to a head-to-head?"

"That'll be messy." Nightslice replied, glancing around the area. "We don't want to destroy the place we're trying to protect. Besides, if it comes to Storm, he'll be spewing flames everywhere…and that won't be good for the locals."

"Hey! Don't you think I'm that reckless?" Firestorm snorted. "Humph!"

As he did however, a small jet of flames emitted from his nostrils charring a nearby set of bushes. Vance had to scramble to snuff the tiny fire out.

"Storm!" Everyone yelled.

"OK! I'm sorry!" The Charizard waved his claws in protest. "But besides, the grass field is Juncan's element. He'll find some way to use that to his advantage for sure."

"Either that or he'll flee if he doesn't have that advantage." Nightslice muttered.

"Fleeing is something we don't want him doing. We have this chance to take him out, and I'm not gonna waste it!" Firestorm growled. "Plus, I don't think he really expects us at the moment."

"In other words, you're suggesting we set a trap." Kris nodded.

"Set a trap that will catch a thief?" Vance whistled. "Sounds tricky."

"And you're the one to talk about it." Garrick shot him a glance.

"Well, I'm an ex-thief. That counts a lot."

"So, you should be the one to advise us." Kris tapped the Flygon on the shoulder. "How would we get him to lower his guard?"

"Erm…well…" Vance scratched the side of his head thoughtfully. "Maybe if you give him something he really wants, yeah…perhaps that might work."

"Man, what sort of a thief are you?" Firestorm sighed. "No wonder you got caught!"

"Hey, ex-thief! Do get it right!"

"Hmmm…give him something he wants…" Kris tapped her belt, feeling the scabbard of the sword that was strapped there.

_(Oh great, you planning on using me?) _Bahamut's spirit spoke from within the blade, catching the attention of Garrick and Vance, who hadn't exactly heard the Legendary Dragon talk yet. _(I don't appreciate being…hey!)_

Kris had drawn the sword and stuck it into the ground. Puzzled, Jade followed and did the same with his own weapon.

_(Fine use me too.) _Lombadra muttered sarcastically.

"No, it's too obvious." Kris shook her head, gesturing towards the swords. "If he sees just our Spirit Weapons here, Juncan will definitely suspect us to be hiding around somewhere."

"Yeah, the guy's cocky, but he's not stupid." Nightslice agreed.

"You know…I think I have an idea…" Firestorm suddenly grinned. "Here guys."

The Charizard dragged the rest of the group away with his wings, leaving the two swords stuck in the ground. Everyone's voices lowered to whispers as they entered the discussion.

_(Fine leave us like this then!) _Bahamut huffed.

With the discussion done, the rest of the group quickly spread out. Kris and Nightslice followed Vance deeper into the forest while Jade, Firestorm and Garrick remained behind. The three left there began digging a couple of pits in the ground.

Kris' group soon returned with some thick branches and large clumps of leaves. The branches were sharpened into spears and placed at the bottom of the freshly dug pits, which were then covered up by thinner branches and the larger leaves.

Finally, bits of dirt and soil were thrown over the pitfall traps to conceal them.

"Whew, that should do it." Jade panted, dusting his hands off.

_(I thought you lot already gave up on the 'set a trap' part.) _Lombadra remarked.

"Oh we never said that." Firestorm gestured. "Just that we decided on some different tactics."

_(Which were?) _

Instead of answering, Firestorm turned towards Garrick and Vance.

"Hope you guys can handle it." The Charizard winked as Kris and Jade retrieved their swords from the ground.

"Just leave it to us." Garrick acknowledged.

"Dragon Meld!" Kris and Jade called out, raising the Legendary Weapons above their heads.

Garrick and Vance had to shield their eyes as blinding flashes of light emitted, changing the forms of the four heroes into those of Bahamut and Lombadra. The two Pokemon were left staring as the Legendary Dragons stretched their limbs and flexed their wings and tails.

"About time we got to do something." Bahamut growled. "So, what's this secret plan of yours?"

_(You'll see…) _Nightslice's voice sounded with a bit of a laugh.

_(Ok Garrick, you can do your thing now.) _Firestorm added in.

"I'm confused." Lombadra scratched his head.

Nodding, Garrick extended a couple of his vines and tapped them against the ground. Lombadra and Bahamut glanced around, puzzled. Nothing seemed to be happening…for the moment at least…

Suddenly, vines shot out from all directions and immediately wrapped themselves around the bodies of the Steel and Fire Dragons. There was practically no chance for the pair to even move or react as they were tightly bound, dragged down….and more.

"What the f…."

* * *

"I do not appreciate you not telling us this in advance!" Bahamut screeched. "Have I told you that already? I really DO not!"

_(Hey, you'd never have approved if we'd told you earlier.) _Nightslice replied.

"That's exactly the point!"

_(And since when did we ever need your approval to do anything?) _Kris added in.

"It's just…just…"

"Plainly humiliating!" Lombadra finished his fellow dragon's sentence.

_(Quit complaining will ya?) _Firestorm growled. _(What Nightslice and me went through was much worse! At least you know they're letting you go after this.)_

_(I never really believed it until now.) _Jade whistled. _(You know, the part about the plants and all…)_

_(Well Zian wasn't exactly supportive of our story either.)_

"Hey is anyone even paying attention to me?" Bahamut yelled furiously. "Hey! Hey! Grrrarrgghhh! I can't move! This is pissing me off!"

"I think you guys are quarrelling too much." Garrick interrupted, frowning.

_(Just try tying their mouths shut.) _Nightslice suggested.

"What?" Bahamut gasped. "You're not going to have him…mmmrrrrppgggghhhh! Hmmuurrpphhh!"

The steel dragon's sentence was abruptly cut off as Garrick used his vines to wrap a couple of ropes around his and Lombadra's jaws, leaving them to emit only muffled screeches.

_(How do you think they look?) _Nightslice asked.

_(Pretty helpless.) _Firestorm grinned. _(That'll fool Juncan for sure.)_

The reason for the Legendary Dragons' distress was rather obvious. Much like Firestorm and Nightslice had once been put through, Lombadra and Bahamut had been 'attacked' by the vines that guarded the sacred fields…and transformed into plants themselves.

Unsurprisingly, their plant forms resembled those of their Pokemon counterparts.

The mystical vines had embedded themselves into the dragons' scales and armor, changing their gray and red colors into green. Their waist levels were now stuck in the ground, with their legs and tails modified into roots. Going upwards, their arms and wings had all been 'tied' beneath the outer surface of their plant forms, leaving only a circle of leaves at their waist and neck levels.

Neither of their heads had changed in shape, but were now wrapped and covered by the vines, giving them their plant texture. Only their eyes and jaws had remained intact. Being rooted to the spot, there wasn't much movement either was capable of other than wiggling their necks.

However, the spots had been carefully chosen, for they were just behind where the pitfall traps had been dug earlier.

The tunnel marking the entrance to the fields then flashed, glowing with a greenish light.

_(Looks like he's coming.) _Kris noted. _(Put on your best act guys.)_

Bahamut certainly didn't need to act. He was extremely furiously with practically everyone at the moment, and continued futilely struggling as Vance moved into view, followed closely by Juncan.

"Well, I didn't really believe you had them at first." Juncan said with a laugh. "But now that I'm seeing it…hmm…"

"So, we can negotiate then?" Garrick queried.

"Sure, just lemme check em out first."

The Grovyle roughly shoved Vance out of the way as he approached Garrick's location…and the pitfall traps.

_(Looks like he's falling for it.) _Jade smiled inwardly, even though no one could see it.

_(That was even easier than I thought it would be.) _Kris added in.

Juncan continued to walk forward, materializing a green Spirit Crystal in his claw. It was of the Grass element, the same type as the field, and thus protected him from any effects of the defensive vines.

"Hold on." Garrick extended a vine, blocking Juncan's path. "You don't want to step there. There's a pitfall trap."

* * *

_(WHAT?) _Everyone stared.

_What the? He's betraying us! _Bahamut though, furiously struggling, but to no avail.

_Dammit! I knew this was a bad idea! _Lombadra had similar thoughts. _Those idiots didn't even think of leaving us an escape route! Now we're completely helpless! Garrghh! _

"They put you up to that?" Juncan huffed.

"Yeah."

"Figures. I guess I shouldn't have expected them to just come waltzing in here at your call."

"I have a responsibility to my home and people first." Garrick declared. "Let's just get this over with."

"Ooh, guilty conscious eh?" Juncan moved around the pit and stood imposingly in front of the two immobilized dragons, who were both struggling in vain. "Let's see now, just to check if you're the real thing…"

Juncan held out his own Spirit Crystal, which glowed in response to the ones that powered Bahamut and Lombadra.

_(Hit his chest! Now!) _Kris and Jade abruptly yelled at the same time.

Bahamut and Lombadra were so startled that they just did as they were told. Utilizing the little parts they could still move, both thrust their heads into Juncan's chest. As the Grovyle grunted in surprise, Garrick suddenly shot a vine out and smacked the Grass Spirit Crystal right out of his hand.

"Oh shit! Garrgghh!" Juncan stumbled backwards and felt the ground give way beneath his feet.

It was the hidden pit that he'd accidentally stepped onto. Reacting on instinct, the reptile flipped backwards and clear of the trap. However, that was the last move he would make…literally.

A large amount of rustling caused Juncan to turn his head, gulping. Dozens of the guardian vines were now looming over his head. And without his Spirit Crystal…he wasn't protected from their wrath…

"Oh son of a b…rarrrrrggghhhhh!"

Leaving the vines to do their job with Juncan, Garrick tapped the ground beside Bahamut and Lombadra. The pair immediately felt the vines begin to uncoil themselves from their bodies. It took several minutes, but the dragons finally found themselves free to move.

The first thing they did was to pounce onto Garrick and pin the Bulbasaur to the ground.

"What the heck did you think you were doing?" Bahamut roared. "We played plants for you and you were thinking of backstabbing us? Why…"

_(Hey, relax you guys!) _Nightslice called. _(That was part of the plan!) _

"Yeah, and it worked like a charm." Vance flew over to the group, who moved and allowed Garrick to get up.

"Part of the plan?" Lombadra queried.

_(To catch Juncan off guard.) _Firestorm explained.

_(All that stuff, having Garrick purposely reveal the pit's location so Juncan would stand in front of it instead…) _Kris continued. _(And be in perfect range for you two to stun him while Garrick took his Crystal_ _away…we planned it all from the start.)_

"The WHY didn't you tell us?" Bahamut and Lombadra fumed.

_(Hey you guys had to react appropriately to be believable.) _Jade told them. _(And a genuine reaction is always the most believable one.)_

"I can't believe you used us like that." Lombadra huffed. "Twice!"

"Well, it worked, and we have this." Vance handed them the Grass Spirit Crystal, which he'd retrieved during the argument.

"This one seems like one of your crystals too." Garrick held out a second Spirit Crystal, the Bug elemental one, from the tangle of vines that Juncan was trapped in.

The Grovyle's howling had stopped, but he still couldn't be seen due to all the vines wrapped around his body. However, Juncan definitely wouldn't be causing any more trouble for them.

"Sure it worked out fine, but we didn't get to fight." Bahamut growled unhappily.

"Well, there is the matter of Juncan's troops waiting outside the entrance." Vance spoke up.

Bahamut and Lombadra exchanged wide, toothy grins.

"Perhaps this won't be such a waste after all…" Lombadra chuckled.

* * *

All manner of murmuring was going on between the Pokemon gathered in the forest. After seeing their leader, Juncan, disappear through the strange portal, the various troops had remained waiting outside.

"What's taking so long?" Wondered a Cacturne, who was waiting close to the portal's entrance. This Pokemon was pretty much a human shaped cactus covered in sharp torns.

"You're just too impatient bro." A second Cacturne waved an arm. "Hey look, I think it's opening!"

Sure enough, the greenish light that marked the secret entrance was beginning to glow. However, what came out instead was a fireball that blew the two grass types away.

"Now this is what I was expecting!" Lombadra roared, jumping out of the portal.

"All right, who's next?" Bahamut stepped up beside his comrade.

A massive upright blue alligator known as a Feraligatr took the challenge, spraying a powerful jet of water. The Legendary Dragons dashed off in different directions, but the water type cleverly turned his attack towards Lombadra, who was part fire type.

"Rarrggh!" Being hit in the face was enough to stun Lombadra slightly, allowing the Feraligatr to clear the gap.

Lombadra was dragged to his feet, feeling the alligator's vice-like grip around his body. The Legendary Dragon responded by 'spreading' his wings of fire. The wings on Lombadra's back weren't normally revealed, but only emerged when he wanted them to.

Being made of pure flames, the wings caused Lombadra's attacker to howl in pain and released his hold. The fire dragon quickly turned and drove both fists into the Feraligatr's stomach. Undaunted, the Feraligatr sank his fangs into Lombadra's arm.

Snarling furiously, Lombadra struggled with the blue alligator, shoving each other back and forth. He finally got a foot against his opponent's and kicked the knee, throwing the Feraligatr off balance. Utilizing the advantage, Lombadra hurled the gator aside, smashing down several trees in the process.

_(Hey try not to destroy the whole place while you're at it.) _Jade sighed. _(That was the point of this mission, remember?) _

"Oh fine." Lombadra sighed. "Just as long as this lot keeps me entertained."

* * *

Meanwhile, Bahamut found himself busy dodging attacks from a brown, elephant-like creature called a Donphan. The ground type was using a Rollout attack, curling into a ball and attacking him by rolling about at high speeds.

It wouldn't have been so difficult if not for the various Cacturne and Hariyama that were pestering him. The latter of the two were human-shaped fighting Pokemon whose specialty lay in their large hands and palm thrusts.

In fact, Bahamut had almost gotten run over because the Cacturne and Hariyama were attacking him in-between the Rollouts.

_(Better think of something else!) _Kris warned. _(You can't keep this up.)_

"Ya think?" Bahamut hissed.

The steel dragon leapt over the rolling Donphan and found himself dodging the missile-like needles fired off by a Cacturne. Bahamut used his tail to smack away some of the spikes and ended up off-balance. Next thing he knew, the rolling Donphan had knocked him into the air.

Spinning head-over-heels, Bahamut barely made out the Hariyama leaping to attack. With a low growl, Bahamut shot his claws out, catching his foe's wrists. Making use of his momentum, Bahamut spun the Hariyama a full 360 degrees and sent him rocketing to the ground like a bullet.

That left a large crater in the ground with the Fighting type Pokemon's unconscious body in it.

The Donphan and Cacturne also stopped their attacks in shock as Bahamut came down, hardening his tail and twirling into an Iron Tail attack. Both were immediately thrown aside, leaving Bahamut to land neatly on all fours and get up to dust himself off.

"Ha! Nothing to it." The Steel type laughed.

"Now's not the time to start bragging pal!" Lombadra somersaulted over to Bahamut's position.

"I find that remark funny, especially coming from you."

"Be quiet will ya?"

All around, the remaining Pokemon troops were gathering into a large circle that surrounded the dragons. Bahamut and Lombadra stood back-to-back, growling and glaring at the opposition.

"So…" Bahamut muttered. "Think there are enough of em' for us?"

"Well…" Lombadra cocked his head to the side. "If one more shows up, it'll probably be trouble."

"Then that'll have to be the one I take care of."

With howls that befitted their ferocious-looking forms, the Legendary Dragons charged into the fray.

* * *

"So, how's the town Tanya?" Alken queried.

"Pokemon territory, but with a few problems." The Salamence informed him, flying in and landing on all fours. "The whole town's uneasy because of a dragon attack earlier."

Tanya winced slightly, having flown on a partially healed wing. Her pride didn't allow her to show it openly, but even Alken could sense that she was still in pain.

"We can never seem to get enough of them, can we?" Abetos sighed. "No offense to you Skiar."

It had been a tiring trek through the maze of caverns, but they'd finally made it out. The forest was a welcomed sight for a change, despite how dark and brooding it felt. Tanya had offered to check out the town first, leaving Alken and Abetos to camp out in the forest until nightfall.

"A dragon? Here?" Alken wondered. "Aren't these Pokemon grounds?"

"Hmm…I'm sure they aren't normally stupid enough to stumble in here." Abetos remarked. "Unless you're thinking…"

"One of the others? Yes, I was about to say that."

"From what I could gather from the townsfolk, the attack occurred just a day ago." Tanya continued. "There was at least one dragon, possibly more, but it's being carefully kept under wraps. An outside organization is helping to transport the dragon away."

"Outside organization eh?" Alken reached down and touched the gun strapped to his belt. "Skiar, can your senses pick up any Spirit Crystal energy?"

_(Lend this dragon your strength and he shall see.) _Skiar focused.

Alken and Abetos put their hands against the Spirit Weapon, channeling in some energy to raise Skiar's senses. The weapon glowed with a purplish light for a few seconds before returning to its normal black color.

_(This dragon indeed feels Spirit Crystal_ _energy. He thinks it's weak, but indeed it is there.) _

"Seems to merit some investigation." Alken decided. "How is this organization planning on transporting the dragons?"

"They were preparing a train down at the loading platforms." Tanya replied. "I can show you to them."

"Excellent."

"However, we have to hurry. I heard that they plan to move out at nightfall."

* * *

"Whew…" Kris panted. "I think we're finally done."

"Yeah, no kidding." Nightslice agreed.

"Man, how do you keep this up Kris?" Jade was flopped on the ground in exhaustion, with Firestorm leaning against a tree next to him.

_(Well, we did most of the work, so you really should be thanking us.) _Bahamut huffed.

_(Yeah, who fought most of the troops?) _Lombadra added in, although exhaustion could be detected in his voice.

"Unsympathetic as always." Kris sighed. "Well, couldn't have expected more of you two."

All around the forest lay the groaning or unconscious bodies of the various Cacturne, Donphan and other Pokemon that they'd fought. Bahamut and Lombadra had reverted to their partners' forms towards the end of the fight, leaving Kris' group to clean up the remaining troops. Even Garrick and Vance had emerged to help at one point, and were now resting in the corner.

Everyone was covered in scars and bruises, along with some bloodied patches, although none of their wounds were serious. Still, they probably had to thank the disorganization and confusion amongst the enemy Pokemon for that.

"Only thing is, what do we do with them now?" Jade wondered. "They're bound to wake up sooner or later."

"Just leave that to Garrick and his memory powder." Vance assured. "You guys had better come into the Sacred Fields so it doesn't affect you too."

Flapping his wings in front of them, the Flygon led Kris, Jade, Nightslice and Firestorm through the portal as Garrick begun spraying off a bluish powder from the bulb on his back.

"Memory powder?" Firestorm asked.

"Oh it's a little something I helped him develop." Vance explained. "Basically, it'll knock those guys out for a few more hours and when they wake up, they'll have forgotten everything that happened in the past 3 days? Cool eh? Sure made it easier when we wanted to keep trespassers out of the fields."

"Why couldn't he have had that when we first came along?" Nightslice sighed.

"Hey, why the long faces people?" Vance continued in his cheerful tone. "We won the fight, didn't we? The fields are now safe again, all thanks to you guys!"

"He's right you know?" Jade happily raised the two new Spirit Crystals they'd acquired, representing the Grass and Bug elements.

"I'm just hurting." Firestorm rubbed his right shoulder, which was rather swollen.

"Yes, we all do need to rest for a bit." Kris agreed.

"Just as well that we can get tons of healing herbs and remedies in here." Vance winked. "Besides, there's someone I think you'd like to see."

"Juncan!" Firestorm and Nightslice raised their heads, their injuries forgotten for the moment.

"No fair!" A voice from up ahead screamed. "I've been triple-crossed! Hey! Help! HEY! You can't do this to me! Let me go! Let me out of here!"

The Charizard and Scizor reached the clearing and immediately burst out laughing.

In front of them was Juncan, as a plant, and rooted to the spot. His coloring wasn't affected much since he was already green, only that Juncan's body now had a plant-like texture to it. Like they'd been before, Juncan was up to wait level in the soil, with his legs having been turned into roots. The vines had wrapped up his arms and upper body too, leaving only his head and neck able to move.

A circle of leaves went around his body at both waist and neck level, with the long blade-like leaf on his head remaining as it was.

"Oh crap…" Juncan moaned as Firestorm and Nightslice stomped over to his position.

"Well, well, look who's the one rooted to the spot now." Firestorm growled.

"Yeah, we haven't exactly had the chance to pay you back from the last time." Nightslice continued.

"Erm…err….you're the good guys right?" Juncan muttered nervously. "You won't kill me, right?"

"Nah, we're not savages like you." Firestorm gestured. "I think it'll be a lot more fun to slowly snip your leaves off, eh?"

"Much agreed." Nightslice grinned evilly.

"What? No! Arrrgghh! Hey!" Juncan screeched. "Ow! Ow! Ow! No! Stop it! AARRRRGGGHHHH!"

"Man those two are scary when they're angry." Jade remarked.

"You won't be having any more problems with Juncan." Garrick said, entering the fields. "We'll keep him here where he can't cause any trouble."

"That sure sounds good, thanks." Kris sat down and leaned against a tree. "One less enemy for us to deal with."

"Ow! Ow! Hey!" Juncan yelled from across the fields.

"Hey, how bout the leave on his head?" Firestorm gestured.

"No! Not that!" Juncan wailed. "That leaf's a Grovyle's pride and…"

SNIP!

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Evening had rapidly turned into night by the time Alken's party made their way through the streets, a constant indication of how little time they had left. But at last, Alken found himself spying on his quarry from the darkness of an alleyway.

Several Pokemon, including Mightyena and Swellow, were gathered around a storage carriage of a train, whose doors were currently wide open. An Aggron and Rhydon were struggling to shove a large object up onto the platform.

Alken couldn't make it out at first, but as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, the ex-Rocket found himself gasping at what he saw. Without a doubt, it was Nala's dragon form, the same one he'd seen on that day back in the cavern where they were attacked by Registeel.

Only now the large dragon's form was battered, bruised and unconscious. It was also wrapped in some thick metal netting with additional leather straps to further restrain it.

_Was this the vision I saw? _Alken asked himself. _Of Nala being in trouble?_

"Alken…Alken!" Tanya's voice snapped the soldier out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Sorry."

"Seems like they're moving out."

Indeed, whistles were sounding, along with the grinding of the engines growing louder and louder. Cursing inwardly, Alken jumped up from their hiding place and sprinted onto the track.

"Abetos! Tanya! We've got to get on that train! That's Nala they've got there!"

"Dammit, say so earlier!" Abetos growled as Tanya and himself followed suit.

Neither one had bothered to check out the surroundings, but it was fortunate that all the Pokemon troops were already onboard the train. Thus, there was no one to see the three infiltrators dashing to the rear caboose in the dark.

Abetos easily overtook his partner and leapt onto the last carriage without a problem. However, Tanya stumbled due to her previous forepaw injury and Alken dashed back to help the Salamence up.

"Just leave me and go." She hissed.

"No, I said we would work together…and I mean it!" Alken insisted. "Now come on!"

Struggling with Tanya's body weight, Alken carefully pushed her up onto the train with some help from Abetos. He had placed one hand on the platform, preparing to pull himself up, when the train abruptly begun moving.

The jerking motion was so sudden that it shook Alken's grasp loose, hurling the black-haired man onto the railway track.

"Alken!" Abetos and Tanya yelled.

"Dammit!" Alken scrambled to his feet, desperately shaking his head to clear out his vision. However, the train was far out of his reach by this time…and there was no way he was going to catch it on foot.

"NNNNNOOOOOOO!"


	28. Railway Showdown! Contest of Speed!

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Railway Showdown! Contest of Speed!**

By nightdragon0

"Aw crap!" Alken frantically glanced around.

The second's delay had cost him greatly, now leaving the soldier with the daunting task of catching up to a moving train. Alken forced back the instinct to give chase on foot, knowing that it would do him no good. Neither would shouting and screaming help, for that would just draw unwanted attention to himself.

Alken watched as the train sped off…and suddenly rounded a bend. The soldier almost wanted to slap himself for not noticing it earlier.

The tracks were laid out in a U-shaped pattern, so the train had to make a turn before it could leave the station. And the other arm of the 'U' was just several hundred feet away.

Despite that, the train was moving fast and Alken realized he had to push himself to his limits if he was going to make it in time. Racing through the tall, shoulder-height grass that separated the two parts of the track, the soldier almost fell several times in his mad dash.

_I'm not going to mess this up! I won't let everyone down! I won't let Nala down either!_

He didn't know why, but there was just so much he wanted to say to Nala. Perhaps…perhaps it was because he hadn't had the guts to do so all this time…

"Rrarrggghhh!" Alken made it to the end and prayed that he'd timed his leap properly.

The stunt got him onto the side of the fourth carriage from the end, where Alken was able to grab hold of a handle on its outer wall.

With his feet balanced on the edge of the platform, Alken pressed his body against the wall and barely avoided being knocked off by a signal pole close to the track.

"Whew…" He panted, taking the moment to catch his breath. The soldier's muscles felt like they were on fire, with his lungs ready to give out any time.

At least he was on the train…for the moment. A sudden creaking sound had Alken's eyes glancing at his handle in shock.

_It's coming loose…_

His brain barely had time to register that thought before the prediction came true. With a loud wail, Alken was tossed off his perch. However, he did manage to grab hold of a dangling rope and used it to swing himself onto the metal bar connecting his carriage to the one behind it.

In his attempt to pull himself up, Alken lost his footing and slipped. Alken slid between the gap and almost hit the railroad tracks below. Almost, for he managed to grab hold of the cables at the bottom of the carriage.

Finding a solid metal bar to press his feet against, Alken held his body, precariously balanced, in that horizontal position for all he was worth.

Small sharp stones were being thrown against his back, cutting through his jacket and into his skin. However Alken didn't dare look. The soldier knew that his back was very close to hitting the railroad's surface.

And allowing his body to be dragged beneath the train would undoubtedly rip the flesh off his bones, granting him a very painful death.

_I won't let it end like this! Come on!_

Forcing his worn muscles to work, Alken stretched out one hand, taking hold of another cable, and carefully pulled himself along. Although he had to go through the painstaking process of finding new handholds and foot grips with each movement, Alken was able to drag himself along.

After what seemed like ages, his fingers finally felt the edge of the train's platform. But to get himself up would require a huge effort.

_(Go.) _Skiar's deep voice echoed. _(Free your body and mind from all doubt!)_

Taking a deep breath, Alken dropped his feet from their holds and twisted his body. There was a brief moment, when Alken changed grips, which had him suspended in mid-air. The soldier kicked his entire body weight off the adjacent carriage and at last hurled himself up onto the safety of the platform.

Exhausted, Alken could do nothing but lie there, panting.

His hands were red and sore, muscles aching and burning like fire. Alken's back was also covered by various cuts, where stones from the road had been thrown against his back. His jacket now had dozens of bloodstained holes in it and Alken pulled it off to wipe himself off. The white shirt he wore beneath looked no better either.

But as long as the injuries weren't life-threatening, they wouldn't stop him. The soldier was quite used to pain in his time.

"Thanks Skiar." Alken gasped. "You were…channeling some of your energy into me, were you?"

_(This dragon does what this dragon can.) _

"It's much appreciated." Alken got to his feet.

With no other way around, Alken had to pick between going forward into the fourth carriage from the end or going backward into the third one from the end.

Making the decision to go backwards, he reached for the door that led into the carriage and pushed it open slightly. It was dark inside and Alken opened it wider to get a better look. A sudden jerk knocked the door out of his grasp and sent it swinging inwards, slamming against the wall.

A little too late, Alken realized that the dark room was where the Mightyena and Swellow Pokemon troops were sleeping. At the loud bang of the door, all heads immediately snapped to Alken's direction.

"This is not my day…" Alken moaned.

* * *

"Alken!" Tanya yelled. "Alken!"

"We can't be yelling too much, or they'll hear us." Abetos placed a paw on the Salamence's uninjured shoulder.

"But I…" Tanya opened her wings and suddenly grimaced in pain. "Rarrggh! My wing still isn't…"

"Don't push yourself. Alken will find a way to get there." Abetos answered confidently. "I know he will."

"How can you be so sure?"

"It's just…something I feel, between the two of us."

"I don't understand."

"Hmmm…like you, I was merely a servant once. But our relationship 'evolved' over time." Abetos let off a soft chuckle. "Alken's had a rough life, but I've been the one to stick by his side all this time. We're comrades…brothers-in-arms…and nothing's going to change that."

"So, it is this friendship that gives you the instinct?" Tanya blinked.

"Yes." Abetos turned towards the door leading into the carriage. "Alken wanted to save his friend Nala, and I'm going to support him in any way I can."

"Allow me to take the front." Tanya offered.

"Well, all right." The Houndoom stepped back. "Let me know what you see."

As silently as she could, Tanya pushed the unlocked door open and peered inside. Dozens of boxes and food items were dumped messily around the area, but otherwise there were no signs of any enemies.

"All clear." Tanya reported.

Despite that, the two Pokemon crept amongst the boxes, least someone or something come in through the door on the opposite side. Nothing did however, giving the pair clear access to the second carriage.

Once again, Tanya peeped through a gap in the unlocked rear door.

"Five guards this time, three Mightyena and two Swellow. They seem to be guarding some bluish dragon in a cage that's against the far wall."

"Bluish dragon?" Abetos wondered.

"A friend of yours?"

"Possibly, but we need to get rid of the guards first." Abetos instructed. "Plus, prevent them from sounding any alarms."

"If you know the Smog ability, then this should be easily done."

"Smog? Ah yes, I get what you mean." Abetos nodded. "All right, get ready!"

Taking a deep breath, the Dark-type blew a foul-smelling blackish smog through the gap in the door. The poison cloud quickly began to fill up the rear of the carriage, attracting the attention of the guards.

Suddenly, Tanya pounced through the smoke, taking the entire group by surprise. The Salamence caught her first victim, a Mightyena, by clasping her jaws around his neck.

The panicked hyena found himself violently shaken up and tossed into one of his kin.

The third Mightyena came at Tanya with a ferocious growl, forcing her to rear up and use her front legs to block. Unfortunately, she felt her injured paw crack and jerked back in pain. Taking advantage of her wound, the Mightyena shoved Tanya onto her back and pinned her down.

Abetos then dashed across the room, leaping and stomping on the Mightyena's head. He proceeded to slash a Swellow in mid-air, and as he landed, seemingly vanished from view. Tanya realized that he had used Faint Attack, clearing the last few feet in the blink of an eye and ramming the final Swellow into the wall.

The bird had barely even hit the ground before Abetos sprayed it with a fiery burst of flames.

Watching their charred comrade go down, the remaining three guards hesitated, exchanging worried glances between their group.

* * *

Tanya had managed to scramble to her feet by this time and briefly accessed the situation. Their three opponents stood in a line with Abetos and herself on either side. One of them was the Mightyena who had gotten hit by his comrade's body earlier, while the second Mightyena and the Swellow were the ones Abetos had managed to stun in his dash across the room.

None of them were very badly injured, but Tanya herself was panting and moving with a limp.

In a flash, the lead Mightyena turned and attacked Abetos, sinking his fangs into the hound's shoulder. Howling in fury, the blind Houndoom did the same whilst trying to claw his opponent off.

The other two apparently decided it was better to take out a wounded opponent, and came at Tanya with the Swellow in front. As Tanya braced herself, the Swellow simply flew past.

Stunned, Tanya tried to focus on the Mightyena, but was rammed from behind by the Swellow. The bird Pokemon had used Aerial Ace to trick her, flying in a partial circle before moving back into his attack. The Mightyena wasted no time and fired off a dark orb, Shadow Ball, from his jaws.

Tanya did her best to dodge and was partially helped as the train rounded a bend, sending her skidding across the ground. The Salamence called upon one of her elemental breaths, Flamethrower, and fired it at her opponents.

Thanks to the train taking another corner, her shot went wide, with Tanya skidding again and being thrown against the cold, hard metal of the dragon's cage. Frantically, she struggled to get up, knowing that her opponents were readying another series of attacks.

"Get down!" Ordered a feminine voice from the rear.

Some instinct just told Tanya to obey and an icy beam shot just above her head. The Ice Beam literally froze the Swellow in his tracks, encasing the bird in a large ice cube. Even though the blue dragon in the cage had every limb and wing chained down, she had still been able to move her head into position and fire the Ice Beam from her jaws.

The Mightyena panicked and tried to break off his charge halfway, but now it was Tanya's turn to take advantage of his distraction and slash twice across his face. The hyena stumbled and Tanya whipped him against the wall with her tail, knocking the dark-type Pokemon unconscious.

Abetos had a bit more trouble with his opponent, but the brutal struggle finally ended with him pushing the Mightyena into a corner. Making use of the fact that the hyena still had his jaws clamped around his shoulder, Abetos shifted his body weight and pounded his foe's head into the wall multiple times.

It hurt his shoulder terribly and stung his muscles, but finally the Mightyena lapsed into unconsciousness.

Upon hearing Tanya's groaning, Abetos leapt over the fallen bodies of their foes and rushed to her side.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"I've been better." Tanya gritted her teeth.

_(Abetos? It really is you!) _A telepathic voice sounded, causing them both to jump.

"Who? It that… Hazuki?" Abetos gasped.

_(Yes, it's me! This Dragon, Asiyu, is my partner.) _Hazuki's voice explained. _(Is Alken here too?)_

"He tried to get onto this train to rescue Nala." Abetos said softly. "But he didn't make it on, and…"

Suddenly, the Houndoom jerked his head up. Sounds of fighting could be detected from the next carriage, where a familiar gun was being fired…accompanied by loud shouting, roaring and screeching.

_(Am I right to say that it sounds like Alken?) _Hazuki asked.

"Hell yeah!" Abetos blurted out. "I knew he wouldn't let me down! But sounds like he's in trouble, and I…"

"Just leave me…and go…first…" The blue dragon, Asiyu, muttered weakly.

"I smell a lot of blood on you." Abetos said grimly. "How badly injured are you?"

Tanya could see that it was probably a lot worse than Abetos' nose told him. The blue dragon was covered in blood and scars. Her tail and both her hind legs looked twisted at odd angles while her wings had been ripped to shreds.

"I'm…fine…please just…."

"You go after Alken." Tanya spoke up. "I'll look after her. I'm still aching from the last fight anyway."

"Thanks Tanya." The Houndoom nodded. "Listen, Hazuki and whoever's with you, I'll help Alken out and then we'll be back for you. I promise!"

With that, Abetos dashed out the rear door and towards the next carriage.

"Erm…" Tanya glanced nervously towards the wounded blue dragon, not even sure where to start.

_All right, I'll search the guards and hopefully they'll have a key and some potions._

_(Hey, how about some introductions for me too?) _A second telepathic voice called. This one wasn't the person called Hazuki or the blue dragon's, but a third entity.

_(Hang on a bit Gwyen, don't confuse her.)_

"This is going to be a long day…" Tanya sighed.

* * *

Abetos barged into the carriage…and into a scene of chaos.

This particular carriage was normally was a resting quarters for the crew, but the Pokemon here were certainly doing anything but resting. No one seemed to respond to Abetos's entry, so the Houndoom crouched down low and listened as best as he could.

His current condition had forced him to become more of a silent assassin rather than a frontline attacker, but even his keen sense of hearing couldn't make much out of the noise. There were just too many voices shouting at once, too many energy attacks being thrown off, plus the sounds of Alken's gun mixed in.

One more thing being blind had taught Abetos was patience.

And as he calmed his nerves to focus, Abetos noticed a pattern. First, he would hear Alken's gunshots mixed with all the various Pokemon attacks. Then, he would feel a strong vibration in the ground, accompanied by the distinctive sound of metal slamming against metal.

There would be no more of Alken's gunshots for a while, until he heard the metallic creaking again.

_Alken's fighting in the doorway! _Abetos realized.

Indeed, his partner was using the metal door as a cover, peering through to take a few shots and ducking back out as the retaliatory attacks came. Now the only problem was how to get to him. He could try a mad dash across and take the high risk of being blasted in the process. Or he could try…

Abetos felt a draft blow past his ears, for he'd forgotten to shut the door on his side.

_Wind…that's it! The roof! _

Hastily, Abetos backed out of the door and stood at the rear section of the carriage. A faint scent of rust drew him to a ladder, which the Houndoom first tested for stability.

_Hang on partner, I'm coming!_

Scrambling onto the rooftop, Abetos kept his body as low as possible and dug his claws into the wooden planks there. With the train moving at such a high speed, the rush of wind around his body was tremendous, but Abetos held on tight and crawled at a slow, but steady pace.

"Abetos? What are you doing up here?" Alken suddenly yelled. Judging the approximate distance of his voice, Alken was probably just at the top of the ladder at the other end of the roof.

"Alken? Hey great to hear from you, but what are you up here for?" Abetos called back.

"Trying to escape! And you?"

"I came to rescue you!"

"Well you have to take care of yourself first! Shadow Ball! Shoot it right behind you!"

Taking his partner's warning, Abetos cranked his neck and discharged the black ball of energy. He heard a howl as a Mightyena was knocked off the ladder behind him and sent flying off the train.

"Crap! They're coming up on my side too!" Alken growled furiously, clambering up onto the roof and firing his gun downwards.

"Stay right there and prepare to Dragon Meld!" Abetos hollered. "I've got an idea!"

"Wait! What are you…"

"Yarrrggghhh!" Abetos threw his body forward and slid across the surface of the roof. In the midst of that action, the Houndoom turned his head and fired off a Flamethrower attack behind him, using the blast to project himself forward.

"Whoa! Whoa! Dragon Meld!" Alken shouted just as Abetos crashed into him.

The two went rolling in a flash of purple light, knocking a flying Swellow out in the process, and landed on the connecting rail of the third to last and fourth to last carriages as Skiar.

"This dragon feels the way you do things is very illogical." The Legendary Dragon muttered, dusting himself off.

The all enemy Pokemon stared in shock for a moment, a mistake that gave Skiar a bit of a head start.

"Twister!" In one motion, Skiar extended the sickle-like blades built into his hands and slashed them through the air. The resulting effect created a miniature tornado that knocked three of the lead Mightyena off the train.

"Alken! Up here!"

Using Skiar's special form of vision, Alken saw Hazuki and Tanya, both of whom were cramped onto Gwyen the Suicune's back. The quadruped water type dashed across the train's roof in the blink of an eye and leapt gracefully onto the roof of Skiar's carriage.

"Cut the couplings!" Tanya ordered. "Hurry!"

"Understood!" A wide smirk crossed Skiar's face as his blades flashed once again.

The result was instantaneous, with the rear three carriages rapidly falling far behind into the distance…along with all the enemy troops onboard. That left them with three carriages and the train engine itself.

"Asiyu showed Tanya how to do an energy transfer and Tanya used it to give us a boost!" Hazuki explained.

"Yeah, Asiyu was so badly beat that she didn't have the strength to de-meld us earlier." Gwyen added in. "Plus there was the chains and all…"

"I'll be fine if you're going to ask that." Tanya groaned, although she was visibly more tired.

_(I'm glad to hear that.) _Alken replied. _(But don't let your guard down! We're not out of this ye…)_

CRACK! The position that Gwyen was standing on abruptly gave way, sending the Suicune and riders plunging into the carriage below.

Skiar wasted no time in barging through the door.

* * *

"Hm? I wasn't expecting so much company."

The carriage looked very much like the previous one Asiyu had been kept in, only that there was a different metal cage at the far end. This one contained a dark brown, hydra-like dragon with three heads. And she was just as covered in chains as Asiyu had been earlier.

In front of the cage stood Citraz, the Gale Dragon, who'd just made the taunting remark. Sano and Uno, the ever-persistent Aggron and Rhydon duo, had their backs turned to Skiar for the moment, but only because they were staring down at the fallen Hazuki, Gwyen and Tanya. The pair of dinos were the ones who'd smashed the hole in the ceiling, dropping Hazuki and the others into their clutches.

Erizar was definitely trying to say something, but with her jaws muzzled shut, she could only utter muffled growls.

"Crap, not you bozos again!" Gwyen cursed. "Don't you know the meaning of give it up already?"

"Hey, you're the ones that are annoying girly." Sano growled.

Skiar hesitated, not entirely sure what do to. His allies were scattered all around and using any massive explosive attacks could very well hit them. But the enemies were everywhere too…

_(We have to wait for a chance.) _Alken muttered tensely.

"Seems we're all at a stalemate here." Citraz remarked, shrugging his shoulders and whipping his tail against Erizar's cage.

"Hey, let me say something here!" Hazuki suddenly called.

All heads turned towards the blue haired girl as she got into a sitting position.

"Guess again! Hargh!" With a fierce swing, Hazuki thrust the bottom end of her Ankh into Uno's knee joint, one of the parts that wasn't covered by his natural armor.

"Garrgghh!" Uno stumbled, grabbing onto his buddy for support.

Unfortunately, Sano wasn't the least prepared for it and went off balance too. In a flash, Hazuki, Gwyen and Tanya had scrambled for cover.

"You idiots!" Citraz yelled, clenching his fists. "No wonder Juncan had you two kicked out of his unit!"

Skiar saw his chance and pushed himself off the ground, using the Extreme Speed technique to zoom past the dinos and pound Citraz in the stomach. The green scaled dragon had the wind knocked out of him, but quickly bounded back kicked Skiar at the left side of his neck.

Now it was Skiar's turn to draw back in surprise, for he hadn't been expecting the Gale Dragon to be so swift. Citraz threw his arms out, sending off a series of star-shaped energy projectiles. Skiar had no choice but to take the hit and let it fuel his rage.

The sickle-like blades emerged from his claws as the dark-type leapt towards his foe, only to have a rising uppercut stuck neatly beneath his chin. Skiar hit the ground with a grunt of pain.

His energy was directly related to Alken and Abetos', and at the moment, neither of the two were feeling too good.

* * *

"Whoa! Whoa!" Hazuki dashed between the crates that were stacked along the wall with Uno hot on her heels.

The Rhydon definitely was not happy with Hazuki's stunt earlier and his indifference in smashing up all the crates in his way certainly showed it. Finally, Hazuki dashed behind one crate that was made of metal, with the loud clang of Uno's fists sounding behind her.

"Grrr…come out you little brat!"

Heart pounding, Hazuki knew she couldn't hide there for long. Uno was already beginning to shove the crate against the wall, forcing her to dash around it. Unfortunately, she chose the wrong side to move to because Uno broke off from pushing the crate and blocked her path, grinning evilly.

However, because of her smaller size, Hazuki realized there was one escape route she could use. Dropping to the ground in mid-run, Hazuki scraped her Ankh against the flooring and froze its surface. With the thin layer of ice, the blue haired girl was able to slide across faster than Uno could react.

Hazuki wasn't done there, for she was aiming to slide between the massive Rhydon's legs. And as she did so, Hazuki thrust her Ankh, with a ball of icy energy ready, upwards.

"Gwwwaaaggghhhh!" Uno's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"Learnt that one from my previous fight with Kioi." Hazuki grinned as she sprinted around the crates to where Gwyen was jumping from side to side and dodging Sano's stomping.

The agile Suicune skipped around another of Sano's tail sweeps, further frustrating the steel-type. But the dino failed to pull his tail back and Gwyen literally ran up it and bounced off the top of his head. Sano looked up just in time to get hit in the face by a Hydro Pump attack.

"Gwyen! Get ready to pick me up!" Hazuki yelled, tapping the ground and freezing it behind the stumbling Sano.

As predicted, the Aggron slipped and skidded backwards. Hazuki ran to get some distance away, but Sano was still headed directly towards her. Running along the walls, Gwyen was able to reach Hazuki quicker and dragged her partner to safety.

It so happened that the moaning Uno, clutching his groin area in pain, stepped out and was promptly smacked by his comrade. The screaming dino duo rolled head-over-heels and right out of the carriage, hitting the railroad tracks outside with a loud bang.

"Oh yeah!" Hazuki and Gwyen gave each other high-fives.

* * *

Once again, Tanya found herself fumbling with a lock. The dragon captured within didn't look as badly injured as the other one, but there was no key this time. And Tanya neither had the brute strength, nor the energy left to use any beam attacks to break the lock.

With a satisfying click, Tanya withdrew her claw as the lock came loose. Having successfully picked the cage's main lock, she still had the lot of chains within to undo, and that could take some time.

However, the dragon was gesturing to Tanya to get its muzzle off. It was just a leather strap, allowing Tanya to rip it off easily.

"Hey thanks, I really needed that." The poison dragon, Erizar breathed.

"It could take me a while to free you, unless you know where a key is." Tanya told her.

"Oh just step back and I'll manage it." The main head then spoke to the other two, on either side of it. "You two better close your eyes."

Taking a deep breath, Erizar sprayed a wave of acid from her jaws. As Tanya watched in amazement, the chains and leather muzzles simply melted and fell off.

"Couldn't you have done that earlier?" The head controlled by Riot muttered.

"Probably not with all those guards ready to jab us with stun rods." Nala replied.

"Ok, point taken."

"Where was Alken?" Nala asked. "Wasn't he fighting right…"

WHAM! Skiar was suddenly hurled across the room, smashing through the door at the rear of the carriage. With a furious howl, Citraz spread his wings and followed, completely ignoring everyone else in the area.

"It's Skiar, and I think he needs help." Erizar remarked.

At that, the hydra-like dragon glowed and changed into two smaller forms. Nala was easily able to scramble out, but Riot found her wings caught in the remains of the chains.

"Nala! Wait for me!" Riot yelled. "Hey!"

"Alken!" Nala dashed past Tanya and peered out the new hole in the back of the carriage.

Skiar and Citraz were now fighting on the roof of the next carriage, locking claws and shoving at one another whilst trying to keep their balance.

Nala immediately drew both her pistols and ran across the connector to the next cart. This one was a storage cart that didn't have anything inside it other than rows and rows of boxes.

Loud thumping sounds were coming from the roof above, but there was no way to tell who was who. Frowning, Nala squeezed in-between the rows of crates and threw the nearest window open. But even sticking her head out of the window didn't give her a clear view.

_No, I'm doing things irrationally. _Nala told herself. _I'm getting too emotional over Alken. Yeah, I should wait for the others to…_

CRASH! Skiar's body suddenly smashed through the roof, sending pieces of wood flying everywhere.

Citraz came down immediately after and stomped on the weakened Skiar's chest, cracking several of his ribs. The Gale Dragon clamped a foot talon around his dark elemental counterpart's neck, leaving Skiar choking and gasping for air.

"Humph, you're just too weak!" Citraz snarled.

"Oh I don't think so!" Nala leapt out from behind her cover, letting her shots fly.

One of the energy bolts caught Citraz on the left wing and another on the right knee. Enraged, the Gale Dragon threw his head back and fired off a brilliant white Hyper Beam.

Nala screamed as the explosion threw her across the area, ending with her smashing through another window.

_(No!) _Alken hollered as Nala's body disappeared outside the train.

Skiar responded to that emotion with a burst of energy and heaved up, throwing Citraz off. The green-scaled warrior broke his fall with a roll and was back on his feet by the time Skiar lunged for him again.

Locking claws, the two dragons rolled and struggled over one another. The brawl took them all the way out of the storage carriage and onto the connecting platform. Unfortunately, Skiar ended up at the bottom of the pile as the vicious Citraz began pushing his head towards the wheels of the train.

"Rarrggghh!" Skiar howled and struggled, but his opponent still had the upper hand.

"Hey!"

Citraz jerked his head up and gasped. There, riding on Riot's back, was Nala. Although she was beating her wings as fast as she could, Riot seemed like she was hovering on the spot as she kept pace with the train.

"Take that!" Riot opened her jaws, revealing a white light within.

The dactyl's Hyper Beam merged with Nala's energy shots, creating a bloody wound on Citraz's left shoulder. But the enemy commander didn't have time to scream for long, for Skiar seized the advantage and pulled his arms down, throwing Citraz against the train tracks.

Citraz's roar of fury was abruptly cut off as the wheels ran over his body, slicing it into several bloody chunks. The reddish blood splattered all over Skiar as the exhausted dragon pulled himself to the safety of the opposite platform.

"Alken!" Nala jumped off her partner's back as the Aerodactyl landed on the same platform.

With a firm nod, Skiar broke into a purple light, revealing Alken and Abetos lying there panting. Nala threw her arms around Alken's shoulders and hugged tightly.

From the other carriage, Hazuki, Gwyen and Tanya all watched and nodded to each other. However, viewing the scene brought up a little bit of sorrow in Tanya's heart.

"Guess she's the one that needs you more, Alken." The Salamence whispered.

* * *

Back on the railway track, Sano and Uno had managed to drag themselves to the side and lay there in defeat.

"Hey bro…maybe we're just not cut out for this." Uno sighed.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sano nodded.

"Why don't we just quit and find another job?"

"Hey yeah! After the way they've been treating us…" Sano fumed. "All right, we quit!"

"Yeah, both of us!" Uno agreed.

The two put their fists together and then flopped back against the grass.

"Hey, is that your stomach rumbling?" Sano suddenly asked.

"Not mine!" Uno shook his head. "Is it yours?"

"Nope."

"Then…"

"Hey, I think it's the ground."

"Huh? Why the ground?"

"Probably cause this is a cliff." Sano gestured. "Look! The sea is just below us."

Suddenly, both sprang up and glanced at each other in shock.

"Uh-oh…"

CRACK!

The cliff finally gave in to their combined weight and broke off, sending the dino duo plummeting into the sea below.

"YYYYAAAAArrrrrgggghhhhh!"

SPLOOSH!

* * *

"I've checked out the engine." Nala gestured. "And…well…this thing's designed to look like and old steam engine, but…"

"But?" Gwyen asked impatiently.

After finding no one else onboard the train, the group had moved into the engine room and was currently standing there examining the controls.

"This…" Nala ripped off one of the floorboards, revealing a complex set of machinery beneath.

"The vehicle is really electronically powered." Alken nodded.

"That explains the small number of crew I guess." Abetos remarked.

"Not only that." Nala frowned. "But I think this system is also on auto-pilot."

"And where is it taking us?" Riot queried.

"There's really no way of knowing." Nala shrugged.

"Can you all feel that?" Hazuki suddenly spoke up.

"Feel what?" Tanya growled.

_(Again, that dark aura.) _Asiyu's voice sounded.

_(I haven't felt it for a long time. A long, long time.) _Erizar added in.

_(This dragon feels the same way.) _Skair voiced his thoughts, a rarity even now that he did talk.

"It's Kaiser, isn't it?" Gwyen leaned over Hazuki's shoulder.

"Yes…"

_(He's calling us, waiting for us at the end of this track.) _Asiyu said grimly. _(He probably has everything he's been looking for now…and we're the final pieces.)_

"Yusia…" Hazuki muttered. "Yusia's there too…"

"Then we're not backing down." Nala declared, receiving a unanimous response in the form of nods from the rest of the group.

"Hang on Yusia…" Hazuki gripped the railing. "We're coming…"

* * *

"What the hell?" Firestorm blurted out.

After returning from the Sacred Fields, the group was looking forward to a warm meal and cozy bedding back at the labs. What they found instead was a blackened crater where the building used to be, along with several of the adjacent houses torn to pieces. Even buildings further away were charred and some still had fires on their outer structures.

Various Pokemon were running around and dousing the flames with water-based attacks. Others were shifting through the rubble and providing aid to the wounded, but none of them paid any attention to Kris' group.

"How could we have missed all this?" Nightslice shook his head. "This couldn't have happened more than a few hours ago."

"Then…did Cid and the others?" Jade glanced around. "I don't see…wait! Over there!"

The four ran over to the side of the road, where Cid was leaning against a fence. The old human looked fine, but was still in a state of shock.

"Cid? Cid are you all right?" Kris knelt by his side.

"Kris? Oh it's good that you've come back." Cid looked up. "But too late I'm afraid."

"What the heck happened?" Firestorm demanded. "Who did this?"

"It was Kaiser…" Zian poked his head out of a brown knapsack lying next to Cid.

While Firestorm wanted to make some remark about Zian's rather undignified mode of transportation, the look in the crippled dragon's eyes caused him to shut his jaws. In fact, it would probably have been Zian himself who would be complaining about anyone carrying him in a knapsack like this.

The psychic dragon had regained much of his cheery personality and sarcastic demeanor, probably the only things that kept him going even in his miserable state. But now he looked very much like when he'd first gotten his injury.

"Hey…" Jade leaned by his side. "It's not your fault that you couldn't do anything."

"If I'd been smart enough, I could've prevented all this from happening." Zian muttered. "Everything from the start, even getting you guys involved!"

"No point lamenting on the past since it's already happened." Nightslice told him. "But I promise you that we'll make him pay for all this!"

"The Spirit Crystal…" Zian looked up. "I think Kaiser was after it. Epsilon teleported us out and tried to fight…but…I don't think he made it."

Everyone fell silent for a while.

"Kaiser took the crystal too." Zian continued. "While Cid carried me and ran. It was all we could do."

"Did you see where he went?" Jade asked. "Or did he say anything? Taunt us with a location or something?"

Zian shook his head.

"I think I know…" Kris spoke up, arousing astonished glances from the group.

The ninja was holding up the sword that contained Bahamut's Spirit Crystal. And the weapon was glowing with a whitish light.

_(I can sense his power…) _Bahamut informed those present. _(Kaiser…he's calling us…)_

"Calling us?" Jade wondered. "But why only now?"

_(I feel it too…that same dark aura we caught wind of, back in the Silph_ _Building.) _Lombadra added in.

"It must be something about Yusia…" Nightslice suggested. "Considering the information we got out of Juncan. Perhaps he's gotten all that he was looking for…and now he's just left with us…"

"Hey, if he wants a fight, we'll go give it to him." Firestorm growled. "Guys? You all with me on this one? We can take him! We've done it before, and we'll just beat him to the ground again!"

"I don't know Storm, it sounds awfully suspicious." Jade muttered. "I don't know if we're really ready…"

"Actually, I think I agree with Storm." Kris decided. "We can't keep running forever. We'll have to face Kaiser sooner or later."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Let's head to the teleport point in the mountain." Kris stood up. "Somehow…I feel like I know where we need to go…"


	29. Critical Crisis

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Critical Crisis**

By nightdragon0

"The end of all roads…" Kris stepped out into the light, blinking.

Close behind were Jade, Firestorm and Nightslice, all exiting the cavern together. The whole group stared in awe at the landscape before them.

The place they'd emerged from was a small cave at the base of a huge mountain. All around, the peaks of other mountains in the range were mostly visible, although some were partially blocked out by the clouds.

A dirt trail led up a small hill, covered entirely with bright green grass, and ended in a wide, flat plateau at the top. That was where a huge white, coliseum-like structure had been erected.

"Wow…" Jade gasped. "What the heck is this place?"

"Indigo Plateau." Kris replied. "The place where all journeys cross and end. At least, that's what they like to say about it in our world."

"Yeah, the league." Jade nodded. "But they can't really call this a plateau. I mean, it's just a flat piece of land surrounded by mountains!"

"Don't ask me, I didn't name the place."

"He told you to come here?" Nightslice queried. "Kaiser?"

"I just followed the feeling that popped into my mind." Kris tapped the sword strapped by her side.

"Had to be a pretty strong one considering you had us jump into a teleport point without any sense of where we were going." Firestorm remarked. "What I don't get is why he didn't go through Nightslice to pass his message."

"Whatever connection between us was severed in the previous battle we had with him, remember?" Nightslice nudged the Charizard's side. "And even his connection with you, in a sense. Kaiser's now just an individual born from my shadow…one we need to take care of."

"So, he's in there?" Jade gestured towards the building.

"Most likely." Kris nodded. "Let's head forward, but keep on alert in case there are any traps waiting for…"

"Oh there are no traps this time." An obnoxious voice sounded. "Just you lot…and me."

Poised at the top of the path was none other than Raguragi the Swampert, glaring menacingly down at them.

"Ah hell! Not you again!" Firestorm snarled furiously.

"Haha, yes, my master has finally deemed it to be the appropriate time for you to be called here."

"I find that very odd considering how long he's operated in secret." Nightslice shot back.

"Well, that was before, when the master was weakened." Raguragi said with a wave of his hand. "However, he now holds half the balance of the elements at his command. And that's more than enough…"

"Balance of the elements?" Kris wondered.

"Sure is cocky of him!" Firestorm continued taunting. "I thought you'd have a whole army for us to fight."

"You'll only find me and the master here." Raguragi huffed. "Too many individuals would throw off the balance of the elemental energies so carefully gathered here."

That certainly was a new development, one that wasn't making any sense at the moment.

"What do you mean?" Nightslice asked.

"Oh, do I have to be the typical bad guy and spill the beans for you? Well, if you can beat me, then I'll consider it! Rarrggghh!"

With that, Raguragi leapt forward and smashed a massive fist into the ground. The party scrambled out of the way as a huge fissure split the path in two.

As Nightslice completed his evasive maneuver, a back flip, he quickly regained his center of balance and fired off a Hyper Beam from his claws. But the attack was poorly aimed and Raguragi easily moved out of its way.

"If that's the way you want to play it, then so will we!" Firestorm roared, stepping into a battle stance.

_(Hey, I knew I was sensing something different.) _Bahamut's voice whispered. _(Raguragi doesn't have any Spirit Crystals_ _equipped.)_

"What? Are you sure?" Kris blinked in surprise. "I thought he wouldn't go anywhere without them."

_(We're positive.) _Lombadra insisted. _(But there is something strange about this area. It's like…a jumble of different elements.)_

Raguragi interrupted the conversation with a roar, sending off and Ice Beam. Immediately, Firestorm spewed a breath of flames from his mouth, resulting in a great amount of hissing and steam as the opposing beams clashed.

"Shouldn't an outside area feel that way normally?" Jade spoke in response to Lombadra's earlier statement. "For example, in a field, there's grass, earth, water, wind and such."

_(I'm not sure, but I definitely sense something out of the ordinary about it.) _Lombadra muttered.

Firestorm and Raguragi's beams had converged into a huge ball of energy, which exploded in a great whitish cloud. With stunning agility, Nightslice sprang through the cloud and attacked.

His foe blocked several of the Scizor's slashes and shoved a foot against Nightslice's chest, throwing the steel-type backwards.

"Hey, who cares?" Firestorm snarled. "If he doesn't have those Spirit Crystals, we can take him out easily if we Dragon Meld!"

"No, we shouldn't." Nightslice came up to his comrade's side.

"What? Why?"

"Because that's what he wants us to do. Use up our Spirit Crystal energy when the real enemy is just up ahead."

"Kaiser! Jeez, I never thought of that." Storm blinked.

"Oh, what a pity. I've been found out." Raguragi sneered. "But you'll find that I'm no pushover either!"

"We'll take him Kris." Nightslice turned his head.

"Sure about that?" Kris asked with concern.

"Hey, trust us." Storm showed a thumbs-up. "It'll be just like old times when we used to do all the fighting for you!"

With that, the Charizard and Scizor charged into the fray.

"Yes…" Raguragi whispered. "All according to plan…"

* * *

The auto-piloted train was coming up alongside yet another tall mountain. The party couldn't help but stare as the train tracks led them on a winding path around the massive structure.

It was practically featureless brown rock with small clumps of vegetation few and far between.

"Hey! Look there!" Hazuki pointed.

The blue haired girl had spotted a white coliseum-like building on the 'level' above them. However, the train seemed to be taking them into a tunnel at the base of the structure.

"That's Indigo Plateau, or so I've heard." Tanya spoke up.

"How fitting." Nala muttered. "They called us to the place where all journeys end…at least, they say that where we come from."

"Where paths converge and end….is also where new ones begin." Alken added in.

No one said anything else as the train plunged into the dark tunnel. Their stay in the tunnel wasn't very long, and the train soon emerged into what looked like a small subway station.

The automated vehicle screeched to a halt and opened its doors. Immediately after, the engines shut off and refused to respond to any of Nala or Alken's poking.

"Well, seems like there's only one way to go." Alken shrugged, gesturing towards a thick metal door on the opposite wall.

"Ugh…" Tanya moaned, collapsing in the one of the train's doors.

"I think you'd better rest here Tanya." Alken knelt by her side. "You're still rather beat-up."

"No, I need to…"

"That's an order lady." Alken tapped the Salamence's head.

"All right…" Tanya reluctantly gave in. "But don't leave anyone here with me. All of them need to go with you. I'll take care of myself."

"I highly doubt Kaiser's interested in you anyway." Hazuki said grimly. "It's us that he probably wants. Yusia…"

* * *

BAM!

Raguragi shattered the ground with another swing of his powerful fists, sending Nightslice and Firestorm leaping into the air. But what seemed like an Earthquake attack suddenly turned into a Rock Throw, with Raguragi sending the shattered pieces of earth against the two.

"Garrgghh!" Firestorm dropped to the ground with a bruised left shoulder and a bleeding left cheek.

Nightslice was able to use his wings to shield himself and suddenly found a huge fist headed right for his face. Time seemed to slow down as Nightslice jerked his head to the right, avoiding Raguragi's punch by a mere couple of inches.

The Scizor retaliated by thrusting his claw upwards, sending Raguragi spinning to the ground.

"Grrr…not bad…" The Swampert growled, wiping blood off the side of his mouth.

"You ain't seen nothing yet!" Firestorm yelled. "Flamethrower!"

The Charizard fired off a huge burst of flames that seemed sure to strike Raguragi head-on. The latter didn't even try to move, but bent over and held his arms out.

Firestorm watched in anticipation as the fire attack hit its mark…and swirled around Raguragi instead.

"What the?" Firestorm stared in disbelief.

Raguragi was momentarily surrounded by a bluish aura, which seemed to push the flames away from his body. The flames had barely even dispersed when a powerful jet of water shot out, striking Firestorm squarely in the chest.

Startled as he was, Firestorm could only grit his fangs as he was sent hurling through several smaller boulders, before finally being stopped by a larger one.

Seeing his comrade go down, Nightslice's eyes flared with rage. The Steel-type leapt in, bringing up his shimmering claws to execute a Metal Claw attack. Raguragi turned and blocked using his arm…but this time a reddish aura flashed around him.

Nightslice suddenly felt as if his claws were on fire, drawing back in pain. His opponent quickly battered him with a double-fisted blow, sending Nightslice to the ground, clutching his aching chest.

The Scizor looked up just in time to see a flaming burst hit him in the face. Or more specifically, Firestorm's Flamethrower attack, which Raguragi had somehow captured and reflected right back at him.

"You all right?" Firestorm called, staggering to his feet.

"What the hell was that?" Nightslice muttered weakly. "When I touched his arms…it felt like they were on fire!"

"I don't know." The Charizard replied. "But it wasn't any attack I know of…"

* * *

"This looks like some sort of generator room." Nala remarked.

"Perhaps it supplies power to the building above it." Riot suggested.

"Well that was kinda obvious."

"Hmm, considering the size, it must require a whole lot of power." Alken added in his input.

The party now found themselves walking through a series of dimly lit corridors. However, lining each wall were rows and rows of various machinery. All of which had been completely silent until a few moments ago, when they'd suddenly started up, startling the group in the process.

That was in addition to the strange collection of elemental energies the Legendary Dragon spirits were sensing, adding to the feel of uncertainty as they continued on. Despite the fact that the group tensed themselves for any kind of trap, nothing served to impede their progress.

Finally, they reached and ascended a series of spiral staircases, emerging into a huge circular room, undoubtedly the main room of the coliseum. Positioned in the very center was a circular altar of white marble, with eight glowing lights on its surface.

"Quite a work of art, isn't it?" A dark figure strode out from behind one of the many pillars holding the ceiling up.

Everyone immediately had their hands on their weapons, but Kaiser waved them off.

"There's no need to come to that if we can avoid it this time." The black colored Scizor laughed.

"Yusia…" Hazuki called. "Where is she? Is she all right?"

"You have my assurance that not a hair on her little body has been touched. She is an essential part of our agenda after all."

"Agenda?" Nala blinked.

"But why don't I discuss it with your dragons instead?"

_(Let us.) _Asiyu assured.

"This sounds suspicious." Abetos growled softly.

"Yeah, be careful guys." Gwyen added in.

In a few blinding flashes of light, three Legendary Dragons stood where the group of humans and Pokemon once were. All three faced Kaiser with ferocious growls, but the dark Scizor barely even flinched.

"Let me ask you all…do you know why the ancient wars started all those thousands of years ago?"

Asiyu, Erizar and Skiar exchanged confused looks, but said nothing.

"Because mortals grew so powerful until they thought themselves as gods, being able to shape the very world with their hands." Kaiser explained. "But my counterpart Harasalt didn't see it that way. They were his people, he said. Too bad he didn't foresee that his people were on the verge of destroying his own world."

"We knew you back then, and that wasn't the case." Erizar hissed. "How you used to command us…and what you did to Skiar…"

"What would you all have understood back then?" Kaiser shook his head. "And Skiar, he was once too wild and salvage for his own good. What I did helped to quell those instincts, or he might not be standing amongst us now."

"Grrr…" Skiar snarled.

"Perhaps it is true to say that even I was a little deluded back then. But now that I've been mortal, in a sense, for myself, I do see the truth. And the truth is, the ancient wars will repeat themselves if the humans continue as they are."

_(What?)_

"Look back at what's happened to the three of you humans in your own world. And even your two other companions. Remember what your own race has done to you?"

_(Guys…) _Abetos muttered.

"The surviving dragons didn't understand this. Protecting the other world was their sacred duty and I would be their sworn enemy no matter what. Think about it!"

"So, is that why you've decided to cleanse that other world?" Asiyu asked.

"And leave this one intact?" Kaiser cocked his head to the side. "Yes indeed."

_(That can't be…) _Hazuki yelled. _(You've started a war in this realm too!)_

"Better to start it off while it's still small rather than let is escalate into something bigger." Kaiser replied with a wave of his claws. "You know, let the bitter ones fight it out amongst themselves. All of it is a necessary sacrifice…"

None of the three had any response and Kaiser let the words sink in for a moment.

"Two of you fought beside me once." Kaiser continued. "Come, and do so again."

"That's all a bunch of lies!" Asiyu suddenly snapped. "Guys, you…"

Erizar and Skiar had their heads turned towards the ground.

_(Erm, guys?) _Alken asked with concern.

_(You didn't actually believe him, did you?) _Abetos added in.

"Erizar?" The heads controlled by Nala and Riot nudged the center head of their hydra-like Legendary Dragon form.

"You know…" Erizar brought her head up. "Once, I would've believe all that…taken it all in without question. But I've seen, felt, experienced so much more since then."

"This dragon now knows much, but says little." Skiar turned his head. The dark elemental did not have eyes any more, but if he did, they would've been fixed on Kaiser with a harsh stare.

"Now that we've seen both sides of the story, I think I understand what our surviving brethren did." Erizar nodded. "Our age and time are over."

"Even immortals have to fade away some time." Asiyu stepped in front of the group. "It's time for us to step aside. You just haven't realized that."

"Hmmm….I expected as much." Kaiser hissed.

"Well then, this dragon says…" Skiar raised his claws. "To prepare oneself!"

* * *

"What was that?" Jade stared, watching the battle from afar. "Some kind of shield?"

_(If that was a shield, then the last one was charged with a lot of Fire elemental energy.) _Lombadra told him.

"But there isn't such a known technique, is there?"

_Too many individuals would throw off the balance of the elemental energies so carefully gathered here… _Kris repeated Raguragi's words in her mind. _He now holds half the balance of the elements at his command._

"That isn't a normal Pokemon attack." Kris realized. "He's drawing on raw elemental energy itself."

"T…that's impossible!" Jade shook his head. "I mean, raw elemental energy is far too unstable! You need to know a technique, charge it up and fire!"

"It's certainly not what he's doing." Kris said as she took off running. "There's some other source that he'd drawing upon."

"Hey, you think it's around here?" Jade chased after his comrade.

"I'm positive. Help me look around for anything out of place."

"Out of place? Hey this is the outdoors! Every stone and blade of grass is out of place!"

_(Perhaps to you…) _Bahamut snorted. _(But not to the trained eye.)_

As Firestorm and Nightslice continued fighting, Kris ran along the grassy patch beside the trail, carefully scanning the ground.

"Is it around here?" Kris whispered, holding up her sword.

_(Yeah, the converging point of the elemental energies is close.) _Bahamut replied. _(I just can't pinpoint its exact location…) _

However, it was Kris who spotted it…an odd patch of grass at the base of a small shrub. While the rest of the grass around it was healthy and green, that particular spot had crumpled and withered grass…almost as if someone had dug up that spot and covered it up again.

Kris immediately got down on her knees and dug, coming up with a device that seemed like a miniature satellite dish.

"No!" Raguragi hollered, turning away from the battle. The Swampert fired an Ice Beam straight towards Kris' back.

"Watch out!" Jade stepped in front of Kris and swung his blade defensively.

Somehow, he managed to get it directly in the beam's path, causing the attack to encase the blade in a coat of ice. The force of the attack had Jade struggling to keep his balance, and it didn't help that Lombadra was instantly screaming obscenities into his head.

"Hold still!" With one motion, Kris tossed the mini-satellite dish into the air and swung her weapon.

The blow not only sliced the device in two, but went all the way through and struck the ice encasing Jade's blade.

Sharp fragments of shattered ice shot towards Raguragi like bullets, who received multiple cuts when instinctively using his arms to block.

"Storm, Flamethrower now!" Kris ordered.

It was second nature by now and Firestorm responded immediately to the command, leaping forward and firing off his largest burst yet. Raguragi spun round and prepared to block, but the strange aura didn't appear this time.

"Garrrggghhh!"

While the fire attack did not work to its full effect against a water-type, it still dealt out a great deal of pain.

Nightslice attacked while Raguragi was stunned, lashing out with the sharp edges of his claws. Raguragi howled as a couple of large bloody marks appeared on his chest.

With all sense of his previously calm state gone, the enraged Swampert shoved his body weight against Nightslice, with the intention to force the Scizor to the ground. At least, he almost succeeded, for Nightslice kicked his feet up and threw Raguragi's body over his own.

Raguragi went screaming down the steep part of the hill, rolling head-over-heels and leaving a bloodied trail from his wounds. In the midst of his desperate struggling, Raguragi failed to notice the edge of the mountain cliff…until he went over it.

All that remained was the echoes of his mad howl as Raguragi disappearing into the mists below.

"Whoops…" Nightslice gasped.

"Forget it." Firestorm patted his shoulder. "I doubt Raguragi would've told us anything. He's far too stubborn."

"But what did you do Kris?" Jade asked, straightening up. "It seems to disable whatever shield he was using."

_(Imagine it like this…) _Bahamut explained. _(A huge, invisible dome of energy with that building as the center point of it all. This dome was made out of unstable concentrations of raw elemental energy.)_

"And what Raguragi was doing was drawing upon the appropriate element. Let's say fire, to counter Nightslice's steel type." Kris continued.

"So the mini-satellite dish was to help him focus the elemental energy?" Jade deduced. "It must've been keyed to his body's unique energy signature or something."

"Exactly." Kris nodded. "That's why he kept countering Storm and Nightslice with the element each were weak against…and boosting the element's power by drawing it from this 'dome of energy'."

"I see…" Jade nodded. "But what could create such a thing?"

_(Shouldn't it be obvious?) _Lombadra snapped.

"The Spirit Crystals!" Nightslice realized. "That's what he meant about half the balance of the elements."

"Then that must mean the he…wants the rest of the crystals from us." Firestorm snarled.

"Not just us, but Hazuki, Nala and even Alken." Kris clenched her fists.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion drew everyone's attention to the coliseum.

"Oh no!" Jade exclaimed. "Are we too late?"

"Only if we keep telling ourselves that." Kris' eyes darkened. "Everyone! Let's hurry!"

* * *

Skiar gritted his fangs, being tossed against the floor yet again.

_(Something's definitely not right…) _Alken whispered.

_(Perhaps it's about that strange elemental field you guys were sensing earlier.) _Abetos suggested.

Their dark elemental dragon was beginning to believe it too. One of the things a dark-type was weak against was a bug-type attack. And Skiar felt like he'd been hit by a Silver Wind at least three times over already.

The battle had taken them close to the entrance of the arena, where Erizar launched another Hyper Beam. Kaiser blocked, or at least he seemed to, and the beam simply changed directions, rebounding and blowing a large hole in the ground.

Asiyu leapt over the debris and broke into a spinning attack, which Kaiser side-stepped to avoid. Erizar took the chance to spray a jet of venomous breath, but their foe nimbly twisted his body and swung a pincer.

The attack was reflected towards Asiyu instead, who barely scrambled away in time.

_(This is not good.) _Gwyen noted. _(He's hardly attacking, just deflecting everything we throw at him. Somehow, it works with every element we use too…)_

"But his energy is going down…" Asiyu panted. "We can definitely feel it…"

_(Hmm…let's try everything at once.) _Alken suggested. _(Let's see if he can deflect three different elements at once.)_

_(Worth a shot.) _Hazuki mentally nodded. _(We're running out of options.)_

The fierce stare down continued as the three dragons moved to form a triangle around Kaiser.

_(Now!) _

"Wait! Everyone!" Bahamut's voice hollered from the doorway.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Freezing Catastrophe!"

"Dusk Requiem!"

"Tri-Way Destroyer!"

Each unique attack corresponded to the main element of Asiyu, Skiar and Erizar respectively.

Kaiser quickly stepped back and seemed to focus some of the elemental energy into his claws. He swung both arms in different directions, sending the special attacks wildly off course.

Skiar's wave of dark energy went right over to Erizar, blowing the poison dragon off her feet. At the same time, the three breath attacks that were emitted from each of Erizar's heads hit Asiyu with a mighty explosion.

Asiyu's special attack normally consisted of hurling dozens of ice spikes at an opponent. Only now it was Skiar who was on the receiving end of things.

The dark-type's head was armored, but not the rest of his body. Bahamut and Lombadra had to witness their fellow dragon being impaled, and watch as his blood-covered body hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

Asiyu and Erizar were thrown to opposite sides of the arena and disappeared in the cloud of dust stirred up by the explosions. There was nothing left once the view cleared…save a large hole in the floor where each one had fallen.

"Why you!" Lombadra howled. The fire dragon went straight for Kaiser while Bahamut knelt by Skiar's side.

"Skiar…" Bahamut shook his fellow dragon's shoulder.

"Go…" Skiar muttered weakly. "Help…him…"

"But what about you?"

_(Kris? You in there?) _Alken's voice called.

_(Alken!) _Kris acknowledged. _(Hang on! We'll…)_

_(No, listen…you have to attack him now!) _Abetos cut in.

_(He'll just keep deflecting the attacks.) _Nightslice told them.

_(It is weakening him.) _Alken insisted. _(The three of us…he's been wearing down. I don't know what powers he had when you last fought him, but he probably won't have them here. He's relying entirely on the elemental field.)_

_(The one generated by the Spirit Crystals.) _Kris noted.

"This dragon…feels the energy of…his foe…decrease…" Skiar raised his head. "Time to…strike…is now!"

"I understand." Bahamut nodded. "Just take care of yourself."

* * *

"Rarrgghhh!" Lombadra smashed into the wall, leaving the impression of his body in it. The fire-type fell to the ground groaning as Kaiser moved in for the kill.

Suddenly, the black Scizor stopped as Bahamut grabbed the former's shoulder.

"Hey! No one does that to my friend!" Bahamut snarled.

BAM! Kaiser took a fist to the face that sent him flying backwards.

"Grrr…another one who's decided to betray me." Kaiser wiped the side of his bleeding mouth.

"Call it whatever you want, but I'm here and I'm going to fight!" Bahamut turned his eyes to Lombadra. "You OK?"

"Yeah…" Lombadra shakily pulled himself to his feet. "And…thanks…"

"Humph." Bahamut readied the two cannons mounted to each of his arms.

The steel dragon let off a dazzling Hyper Beam attack that flew across the room in the blink of an eye. Yet, Kaiser was still faster and managed to deflect the beam towards Lombadra instead.

"Hey whoa!" Lombadra rolled to the side as the beam blew out the wall behind him. "You knew he was going to do that, so why shoot?"

"That's the whole idea….to let him do it." Bahamut winked. "Come on, I thought you were the smart one."

"Oh I get it…" Lombadra grinned. "Your buddy there gave you some tips?"

"You're with me, aren't you?"

"Well, I hope this answers your question!" Lombadra reared back and fired off a Flamethrower at Kaiser.

The dark Scizor knocked the flames towards Bahamut, who had moved to the opposite side of the room.

"Light Screen!" Bahamut utilized a psychic-type attack, creating a semi-translucent shield to lessen the impact of the flames.

Gritting his fangs to ward off the stinging feeling, Bahamut shook the flames off and fired a Hyper Beam at Kaiser. As expected, Kaiser used his connection to the elemental field to re-direct the shot.

However, Lombadra was prepared for it this time. Setting up a Reflect screen for defense, Lombadra held firm as the beam struck…then quickly fired another Flamethrower.

Kaiser's eyes widened with concern as he was forced to deflect the attack. Once again, Bahamut used Light Screen to defend himself and retaliated by shooting off another Hyper Beam, only a little faster.

That meant exposing himself to more of the flames, but the overall result was Kaiser having to deflect the elemental beams faster and faster.

Although he did realize the Legendary Dragons' plans, Kaiser ended up too caught up in their 'trading' of beams to do anything. Each shot drained more energy out of him until one Hyper Beam finally blew the dark Scizor off his feet.

By this time, Bahamut and Lombadra were panting too. Bahamut with many burn wounds and Lombadra's scales covered with similar ones from warding off the Hyper Beams. But the end result was they were standing and Kaiser wasn't, the latter barely propping himself up against the altar.

"You're through!" Bahamut pointed his arm cannon at Kaiser.

Now that both were closer to the altar, they could see that it was more like a well, with thick edges and a hollowed out center. Arranged on the outer rim were eight glowing crystals…the eight Spirit Crystals that Kaiser possessed.

Namely, thunder, psychic, normal, fighting, flying, rock, water and ground.

Kaiser staggered for a few seconds more…then stared coldly up at them.

"Not yet I think!" Kaiser abruptly leapt back and dragged something…no….someone out of the hollow center of the altar.

"Zian!" Everyone stared in utter shock.

"I had Cid bring me!" Zian spluttered. "I just had to…arrcckkk!"

Kaiser clamped a pincer around the small dragon neck, causing him to choke.

"Go ahead and shoot…" Kaiser taunted. "If you dare to."

"Son of a…" Lombadra hissed, although his arms were still raised in a battle stance.

"That's cheap!" Bahamut growled angrily.

"Do…it!" Zian gagged. "I'm not….worth it…just…do it…acckk!"

_(Zian…)_ Kris muttered.

"Come on…gargghh…shoot us both! It doesn't matter…what happens to me…acckk…."

Bahamut and Lombadra hesitated…a moment too long…

All of a sudden, Kaiser dropped Zian's limp form and fired a couple of orange beams from the insides of his pincers. Obviously, he'd been charging those up inside his pincers for a while, but Bahamut and Lombadra didn't have time to react as the beams struck each one through the chest.

Both went down in a spray of blood and didn't get up.

"No…" Zian stared.

Kaiser simply flung the crippled Zian aside and walked over to the dragon's bodies as they reverted into the unconscious forms of their partners.

Beside Kris lay her sword, which was fused with Bahamut's Steel elemental Spirit Crystal. She also held on to a second crystal, representing the bug-type element. Jade likewise had the fire crystal in his weapon and the grass crystal in his possession.

Skiar had reverted to Alken and Abetos' forms as well, who were barely conscious as Kaiser took the gun containing the dark spirit crystal. Lying around the room too were Hazuki's ankh, containing the ice crystal, Nala's pistols, with the poison crystal, and the loose ghost-type crystal Nala had been carrying with her.

Since the crystals were 'attracted' to the altar, the girls' crystals had been left on the surface while they'd fallen onto the level below.

"No…no…." Zian moaned, helplessly watching Kaiser gather up the fallen crystals.

* * *

"Wake up! Wake up please!"

"Ugh…" Hazuki rolled over, moaning and suddenly found Gwyen's tongue in her face. "Ow…"

"Oh thank the gods you're all right!" The Suicune gasped. "I thought I'd lost you!"

As Hazuki's vision cleared, she realized that they were back on the lower level, in the halls with all the machinery. However, they weren't alone.

"Cid?" Hazuki gasped.

"I wish I could say that it was good to see you, but I'm afraid good is far from the way to describe the situation." The old human spoke, leaning against Tanya's frame for support.

"Yeah, we got our butts seriously kicked." Gwyen added in.

"But Kris and the others…they came along just as our attacks got reflected, right?"

"There's no telling how well they're doing though."

"Asiyu!" Hazuki felt for her ankh, which wasn't there. "Is she…"

"Gone…" Gwyen shook her head.

Hazuki let off a sigh and turned towards Cid.

"What are you doing here?" The blue-haired girl asked.

Cid briefly filled her in on the latest information, and his meeting with Kris back at the labs.

"Kris and the others left the remains of the labs first." Cid explained. "But Zian decided that he wanted to go and help, and had me bring him. Then this Swampert ambushed us along the way to the teleport point…and I guess he had a quicker way to get Zian and me here."

"I found your friend tied up behind a hidden wall at the train platform." Tanya informed them. "I guess he must've been unconscious when your group initially left. However, there was no sign of this Zian."

Hazuki felt a stab of exhaustion come over her, and realized really how drained she was.

"Things are going from bad to worse…" Gwyen shook her head.

"Hazuki! Over here!" Nala suddenly came running around the corner. "Yusia! We've found Yusia!"

"What? Where?" Hazuki cried.

Nala led them around several bends before arriving at an open section, where Riot was waiting. And there, asleep inside a large, hovering blue sphere, was Yusia.

"Yusia!" Hazuki rushed forward.

"No wait!" Nala pulled her arm, but didn't manage to stop Hazuki in time.

An invisible force field activated, flinging both girls onto the ground.

"We already tried that, and there doesn't seem to be any way around it." Riot growled.

"She does not seem to be harmed though." Tanya commented.

"The Swampert was saying something about her being a 'harmonizer'." Cid scratched his head. "Apparently, Kaiser needed some power from within her to focus the full force of the elemental energies."

"And open the portal back to the other world…" Hazuki's eyes went wide. "Our world…"

"How…" Tanya began.

"Asiyu's talking to me somehow, weak as she is." Hazuki explained. "She says Kaiser now has all the 16 Spirit Crystals of the Pokemon elements."

"But then, that would mean that Kris and the others were…" Nala let that trail off.

Suddenly, the machinery around the group hummed to life, causing them to back away. The sphere holding Yusia within began to rise towards a circular opening in the ceiling.

"No!" Hazuki slammed into the invisible barrier and was thrown to the ground again. "Yusia! Yusia!"


	30. Circle of the Elements

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Circle of the Elements**

By nightdragon0

Nightslice groaned, forcing himself awake. His vision was blurred and his memories fuzzy.

_What was…happening? Bahamut…he…he was…oh no…_

The Scizor was face down on the ground and painfully dragged himself to his knees. Nightslice suddenly remembered the battle with Kaiser…Bahamut and Lombadra being shot…

"Kris!" Nightslice called.

His partner was sprawled in a heap beside him, unconscious as well. She was at the very least breathing, although Nightslice couldn't tell if anything else had been damaged.

Bahamut had been the one to take the blow, but Kris and Nightslice still felt the aftereffects of pain and exhaustion even after they'd reverted.

It was then that Nightslice turned his attention towards the altar in the center of the room…and Kaiser. The dark Scizor had positioned himself in the center of the altar, surrounded by the eight…no now there were sixteen glowing lights.

In horror, Nightslice realized that the Spirit Crystal powered weapons such as Kris and Jade's swords had been added to the circle.

The circle of all the Pokemon types…the Pokemon elements…was now complete.

Kaiser was simply hovering in the center, bathing in the lights of various colors. He didn't even seem to acknowledge as Nightslice rose to his feet.

"Hey! Rarrrgghhh!" The Scizor pushed off the ground and rocketed towards his nemesis…only to be shoved back by some invisible force.

It left the stinging effect of an electrical attack on his body too, but even that didn't end up being Nightslice's greatest concern. For imprisoned in a translucent sphere beneath Kaiser, was the unconscious form of Yusia.

A fireball suddenly shot past Nightslice and slammed fruitlessly into Kaiser's invisible shield.

"Grrr…damn…" Firestorm hissed, dropping to his knees. The shot had taken a lot more out of his already weakened body than he'd anticipated.

"It's not working…" Nightslice muttered.

"Kaiser's completed the circle." All heads turned towards the source of Zian's voice, the small dragon's body slumped in the corner.

"The circle?" Firestorm panted. "You mean all the Spirit Crystals?"

"Not just that…but with…Yusia as well. With her, Kaiser will be able to re-open the portal back to your world…"

"But that's something even you had to use practically all your power to do!"

"I didn't see it before, but she is indeed a link." Zian rasped weakly. "She is from your world, yet she was created from the genes of an ancient dragon. That blood running through her veins…it makes her aura compatible with such a large source of energy to link the worlds together."

"As if the mere powers of the united Spirit Crystals weren't enough already…" Nightslice hissed.

The steel-type suddenly lunged for Kaiser again, only to be thrown back by the invisible shield.

"He won't even bother." Zian said grimly. "He's too deep in concentration. Any disruptions could be disastrous. That's why he put that shield up first."

"We have to…keep trying!" Firestorm clenched his claws, spewing another breath of flames. "We've come too far…to give up now!"

"It's too strong…" Zian shook his head.

Firestorm's repelled breath of flames was soon joined by another one…belonging to Abetos.

"If we quit now, we won't find out!" The Houndoom snarled, limping over to Firestorm and Nightslice.

As if emboldened with the will to carry on, Kris, Jade and Alken were beginning to stir as well.

"Guys…" Zian whispered.

* * *

"Yusia! Yusia!"

"Hazuki, screaming isn't going to help." Nala tugged her friend's shoulder.

The sphere with Yusia imprisoned within had risen out of sight through a hole in the ceiling, and Hazuki was still screaming while the others desperately scanned the controls.

"I don't get any of these." Tanya shook her head. "We may need to smash all the machines to disable whatever mechanism is above."

"Wait, we don't know what will happen to Yusia if we do that." Gwyen pointed her snout at the ceiling.

"Hazuki, Nala, what do you two think?" Riot asked.

Hazuki had stopped screaming by this time and uncertainly turned her eyes towards the ceiling. The rest of the group fell into silence as they watched, leaving only the humming of the machinery to fill out the void.

However, it was that silence that allowed them to hear some familiar roaring and grunting from the level above them.

"That's Firestorm and Nightslice!" Riot realized. "They must still be fighting above!"

"Even without their powers?" Cid asked with concern.

"I know they're tough…" Nala nodded. "But they'll need help…"

Meanwhile, Hazuki was lost in her own thoughts. Asiyu had managed to pass Hazuki a few images before her presence faded, and it didn't look good. Kaiser was apparently utilizing the energy generated down here to power the device above.

If they cut the power, Firestorm and Nightslice would certainly have a better chance, but Yusia…

_Yusia…I'm sorry…I…huh?_

Hazuki blinked as a past scene suddenly flashed in her mind. It was that of Kaiser, taking the extra precaution to shield Yusia during their battle at Silver Town.

Yusia was necessary to him…he needed the hidden powers she possessed. And Kaiser wouldn't want to lose her so easily either.

It was just a hunch Hazuki got as her thoughts drifted towards Yusia. Would Yusia want this? Want to be used as a tool in such a dark and evil plot? No, her little sister understood things more deeply than that.

She knew all living things would come to their end some time. It was just a matter of when…

_Yusia…she'd want to be part of our mission to save these two worlds! _The blue haired girl told herself.

"Guys…" Hazuki spoke up. "Let's do it! Blow up all the machines down here!"

"You sure?" Gwyen nuzzled her side.

"A feeling that I have." Hazuki winked. "Yusia will be safe…as long as we all do our best!"

"I was waiting to hear that!" The Suicune grinned. "Ok people, you heard the lady! We've got some smashing to do!"

Roars and yells of approval sounded as the group spread throughout the room.

Riot ripped down one of the aisles, tearing through a line of machines with a Wing Attack. Gwyen leapt about launching powerful Hydro Pumps while Tanya did the same with her Dragon Breath ability.

The humans had to cover their heads as debris flew everywhere…accompanied by loud explosions and smoke that begun to rapidly fill the room.

"We'd better head back to the upper floor after this!" Nala shouted over the din of the explosions.

* * *

"Look!" Nightslice gestured.

A dark swirling vortex had begun to materialize behind Kaiser, and it wasn't long before it was the size of the altar itself.

The abrupt, suction force that came with the vortex's opening forced everyone to cease their attacks and dig their claws into the ground in order to avoid being drawn in.

Even Kris, Jade and Alken, who were much further away, had problems holding on. Zian however was spared because he was lying at an angle to the portal, but not like he could've moved by himself either way.

Then, something odd happened. The glowing crystals around the altar suddenly grew dimmer and the suction force weaker.

Kaiser's eyes opened in surprise, but he wasn't able to break off channeling the energy, or he risked disrupting the process entirely. Even the previously invisible energy shield around him flickered into view, apparently as a result of the dropping power levels.

"What's going on?" Jade wondered, blinking in the yellowish glow of Kaiser's energy shield.

"Hazuki and the others." Kris smiled as the faint sounds of explosions reached her from below.

"Now's our chance!" Nightslice decided. "We've got to break up that elemental circle!"

"You're right." Kris nodded. "Everyone! All together! Let's get our weapons back!"

Each human took up position behind their Pokemon counterpart as they charged towards Kaiser in unison. Each one struggled as they hit the weakened barrier, forcing against it with all their might.

At that moment, the humans leapt over their Pokemon partners and penetrated the barrier. While still in mid-leap, Alken grabbed both his gun and Nala's twin pistols. Jade snatched his blade and Hazuki's ankh from their positions on the altar.

Kris got both hands on her sword and ripped the shimmering blade out. However, the ninja noticed a familiar crystal right next to her body. It took only a simple twist of her wrist to dislodge the purplish crystal from its position as well.

The three landed firmly on the ground, triumphantly holding their weapons out as they faced Hazuki's group, who had just emerged from the stairwell below.

Nightslice, Firestorm and Abetos backed away as Kaiser was knocked over with a hideous scream.

"Catch!" Alken and Jade tossed Nala and Hazuki their respective weapons.

"Thanks!" Hazuki caught her ankh. "Thought we'd lost you again!"

_(Hey, you almost did.) _The Ice Dragon's voice replied weakly.

"You still with us Erizar?" Nala twirled her pistols.

_(I think you know that nothing keeps me down for long.) _Erizar responded with a growl in her voice.

Alken simply checked and reloaded his weapon. Skiar's feelings were usually the kind that went best unspoken.

_(I'm itching for another fight!) _Lombadra hissed.

"You know, so am I." Jade grinned. "Guess you've rubbed off on me a lot more than I thought you would."

_(Humph.)_

"It's not over yet, is it?" Kris tightened her grip on the sword containing Bahamut's spirit.

_(Not yet…) _The steel-type confirmed. _(I can still feel his powers…)_

All of a sudden, the dark void grew to a tremendous size, consuming everything in the room.

* * *

The group now found themselves 'hovering' in a black sea of nothingness. Much like being out in space would've felt, there was no definitive up or down within the void…only the endless darkness stretching out in all directions.

"What the hell?" Firestorm glanced around.

"This void…" Nightslice muttered. "It has to be the dimension connecting this realm…and ours."

"Hey, over there!"

Just up ahead was a rough circle of glowing lights. The rest of the Spirit Crystals, which had been scattered all around the area after the explosion.

As the group approached, Kaiser arose, standing roughly within the center of the circle. Even here, he remained in the form of a black colored Scizor.

"We're not finished yet…" Kaiser growled fiercely. "I still have control over more of the elements…"

"Damn, you just don't know when to quit, do you?" Kris raised her sword.

"Ha, and I still have the…"

BOOM!

Kaiser was forced to jump aside as a small explosion blew out the spot he'd been standing on, further scattering the crystals.

"No, you don't have her any more." A familiar voice declared.

"What?"

"Zian!" Everyone cried happily.

No longer was the psychic dragon a crumpled heap on the ground, but in the air with his wings spread wide. In his front claws, he held a groaning Yusia close to his chest.

"You've got good aim Kris." Zian smirked.

"I know." Kris returned the smile.

The Spirit Crystal she'd knocked loose earlier had indeed been Zian's psychic one. Kris had deliberately kicked it towards Zian's body in hopes that it would restore his powers. And it turned out that her guess had been right, although it was partially the odd flow of energy in the void that had affected Zian as well.

"One more…won't mean anything." Kaiser snarled, although he was visibly more exhausted.

"We'll see about that." Kris stepped to the front of the group, giving a nod to everyone. "Ready?"

"Yeah!" Each of the respective human and Pokemon pairs raised their weapons. "Dragon Meld!"

Five flashes of light shot out, each one turning into one of the legendary dragons. A silver light for Bahamut, a red one for Lombadra, a blue one for Asiyu, purple for Erizar and black for Skiar.

The five dragons slammed into Kaiser, who threw up his arms to raise his protective barrier. However, the force of the attacks still knocked the dark Scizor onto his back.

"Here, look after her and take cover." Zian carefully placed Yusia onto Tanya's back. He then dove into the battle as well.

Asiyu and Lombadra were throwing their elemental beams about. Bahamut and Erizar darted from left to right, unleashing their breath weapons. Skiar too leapt in for occasional slashes with his blades.

Most of the attacks bounced off Kaiser's invisible shield, but they were wearing him down. Just not fast enough as he was retaliating with various elemental beam attacks of his own.

Zian tried to disable Kaiser's shield with a Psychic attack, only to receive a fiery blast in return. In short, the battle quickly turned into a complete scene of chaotic attacks.

_(We're almost there, but we're still not focused.) _Nightslice noted. _(Kaiser's still using the elemental Spirit Crystals_ _to attack together. However, we're attacking individually.)_

_(That's not the only problem.) _Firestorm cut in. _(Look!)_

Two portals were beginning to form at either 'end' of the area. Through one, the remains of the altar within the coliseum were visible. While through the other was a scene looking down at a crowded city street…with humans walking about.

"Those…those lead back to the two worlds." Zian realized. "That's not good. This dimension is becoming too unstable.

_(Then, what's going to happen?) _Kris called.

"The two worlds will collide…and a result like that would be catastrophic."

_(Then we're got to finish him off now.) _Nightslice said grimly. _(But our attacks aren't getting it done fast enough! There has to be some other way…)_

"Everyone!" Yusia was on her feet, yelling to them. "A circle…a circle of the elements! I saw it when I was inside the sphere just now!"

"Hmm…of course!" Zian nodded.

His next words came in the form of a telepathic message to all their allies.

_(Guys, Kaiser's using the elements together to keep countering us.) _The psychic dragon explained. _(It's a nearly impenetrable defensive strategy…but there is something even more powerful. And that's using the elements in a chain.)_

Time seemed to stop as the party looked towards him in their thoughts.

_(Each Pokemon type is strong and weak against another.) _Zian continued. _(And that's what we'll do! Use the Spirit Crystals_ _in a chain, a circle where each element is strong against the one after it. A purification circle will be created, neutralizing the rest of the Spirit Crystals_ _and sealing their powers here! That will stop the damage from being done to both worlds!)_

_(But that would mean…) _Kris started.

_(Yes, we'll be trapped here too…)_

In her mind, Kris saw herself standing in a wide, open field. Beside her stood Nightslice, and in front of her, Jade and Firestorm. Gwyen ran over, carrying Hazuki on her back and Riot came in from the sky, with Nala riding along. Finally, Alken and Abetos walked over, calmly waving to the group.

The forms of Bahamut, Lombadra, Asiyu, Erizar and Skiar materialized before them. Even Zian appeared, floating down from the blue sky above.

"Hey, we can't let you lot do that." Bahamut shook his head. "You'll be sealed here just because your bodies are used to give us physical form."

"Yeah, we're already dead in a sense, so it won't really matter to us." Lombadra added in. "But for you…it just wouldn't be fair."

"There has to some alternative, right?" Asiyu asked. "Perhaps if we could just use our crystals by themselves…"

"It wouldn't work." Zian said grimly. "There won't be enough energy to maintain the elemental circle that way."

"Plus, we'll need to utilize some crystals of our fallen comrades to complete the circle." Erizar noted. "We'll need to use our own energy to power those."

"A point this dragon has acknowledged as well." Skiar folded his arms. "Now, the decision is yours!"

There was barely a moment's hesitation before the group's leader stepped forward.

"It's fine. I'm in." Kris declared.

"So am I." Nightslice came up beside her. "We're involved in this too. One way or the other, all of us are."

"It's fate huh?" Firestorm cocked his head to the side. "That's the way it goes."

"We need to finish this up." Jade winked. "Right guys?"

One by one, the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

Zian paused for a while more before breaking into a wide grin. Slowly, the other Legendary Dragons joined him.

"I sort of expected that you wouldn't be wavered." Zian remarked.

* * *

"Rarrggh!"

The 'moment' was suddenly over and the dragon group leapt apart, surrounding Kaiser on all sides.

"My element of fire, power to melt steel!" Lombadra declared, shooting a red beam of light towards Bahamut.

"Solid steel, shattering the ice!" Bahamut threw the next beam to Asiyu.

"A relentless winter, ice freezes rock!" Asiyu fired a blue beam towards one of the stray Spirit Crystals.

"The strength of the rock element…crushes the bug." Riot activated the crystal bearing her Pokemon type, causing it to shoot a brown beam towards another crystal.

_(The silent bug element…undoing of the dark!) _Nightslice invoked this one, sending a greenish beam into Skiar.

"This dragon's darkness…consumes psychic powers!" Skiar's beam struck Zian.

"Deepest regions of the mind…psychic overcomes poison!" The purple light of Zian touched Erizar.

"Deadliest venoms…poison against grass!" Erizar aimed her beam at another of the loose Spirit Crystals.

"This one is for your sake, Grix my friend. Grass to absorb water!" Zian reached out with his powers to utilize the crystal, connecting it to another.

_(And water douses the fire, completing the chain!) _It was Gwyen who triggered this final crystal, directing its beam back to Lombadra.

Ten crystals…ten elements…and the majority.

The result was instantaneous with the area encircled by the beams bursting into a blinding white light. Kaiser howled furiously as his defensive strategy had just gone against him. He tried to re-channel whatever elemental energy he had control of…but it was already too late.

While Yusia, Tanya and Cid looked on, the Legendary Dragons roared as they struggled to maintain the elemental circle. As an aftereffect, the dimension around them began to rumble, growing more and more unstable with each passing moment.

_(Cid!) _Hazuki yelled. _(Take Yusia back through the portal! Back to our world!)_

_(Sis!) _Yusia shouted.

_(You knew what would happen when you told us about the elemental circle, right?)_

_(Yes sis…I did…)_

_(It's what's best for everyone…for both these worlds!)_

"I understand." Cid nodded. "Yusia, please come!"

The little girl was crying by now, but she didn't resist as Cid grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the portal. Tanya was at their backs a moment later, urging them along.

"I will look after them." The Salamence assured. "That's my promise to you. There's nothing much left for me in this world, so perhaps yours will be a better one for me."

_(Thank you…) _Hazuki said tearfully. _(Goodbye Yusia…take care…)_

"Sis!" Yusia let off one final wail.

Then, Kaiser managed to raise a claw…and fire one final elemental beam out of sheer desperation. Everyone stared in horror as the beam headed right towards Yusia and the others.

Suddenly, Zian broke off from his position in the circle…but not before leaving his Spirit Crystal still linked to the others. The psychic dragon threw his body between Yusia and the shot, taking the full force of it in the chest.

The explosion threw Zian in the other direction, back towards the portal to the Dragon Realms.

"Zian!"

_(Zian!)_

With the last of their strength, the remaining dragons channeled their powers into one final burst…enveloping the area in a great white light…

* * *

**The Sealed Dimension…**

"Kris!"

The ninja blinked at the sound of Nightslice's voice. She was once again standing in that calm, peaceful green field with a clear, cloudless blue sky above.

"It's finally over, isn't it?" The Scizor asked, moving to her side.

"The battle with Kaiser is, at least." Firestorm appeared from the forest that surrounded the field.

"Yeah, it's been one wild ride." Jade agreed, walking out from behind Firestorm.

"Who would've thought it would end up this way?" Kris remarked. "After the way we first started."

"I think I finally get it now." Nightslice spoke up. "The true purpose of our mission."

"And what was that?" Jade queried.

"The worlds, both of them, didn't need the Legendary Dragons any more. Because, they were inevitability linked to Kaiser, he kept coming back…"

"And for Kaiser to permanently disappear, so did the Legendary Dragons." Firestorm finished. "They too have to completely disappear…from both worlds…"

"Hey!" Hazuki slid along the grass, followed by Gwyen. "Looks like everyone's here!"

"Except for Yusia." Kris bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm sad too…but I know she's in good hands, thanks to Cid and Tanya."

"Happy to hear that you think so." Gwyen said with a grin. "I never though I'd get the chance to, you know, save the world and stuff."

Nala and Alken were off to the side, actually holding hands for once, while Riot and Abetos looked on with smiles on their faces.

Even the presence of the legendary dragons they'd fought alongside could be felt. Or more specifically, the memories of Bahamut and the others. No doubt that they were still weak from the battle, but Kris was sure that they would be able to manifest in this strange dimension eventually.

"So…guess we're stuck here?" Jade shrugged.

"Possibly…and possibly not." Nightslice replied. "This is still sort of a dimension that exists between worlds. The Spirit Crystals and Legendary Dragons are definitely sealed here…but we may not be entirely bound. Perhaps…perhaps we'll be able to find a way out some time or other…"

"Perhaps later…" Firestorm flopped down on the grass. "For now, I'd just like to rest."

It wasn't long before the rest of the Dragon Riders joined him.

* * *

**50 years after the battle, Dragon Realms…**

"And that's the end of the story…"

"Awww…" The slightly disappointed voices of a group of dragon whelpings and Pokemon babies rang out.

"But how about Kris and those guys?" One piped up.

"Did they ever find a way out?" Another asked.

"And what happened after?"

"That's the point. Because stories never end…and legends will always live on…"

"Kids, I think your uncle Zian has had enough for one day." An old raspy voice called.

One by one, the younglings got up, bowed and departed. That left the two older dragons standing on a cliff at the edge of a forest, overlooking the setting sun.

At least, one in a wheelchair and another using a clutch.

"You're quite the storyteller these days." Kioi laughed.

"Yes, I know." Zian nodded in agreement as best as he could.

Zian had the good fortune of being thrown, relatively unhurt, back into the Dragon Realms. However, without his Spirit Crystal and his powers, the small dragon's body had been left in its crippled state. He could no longer move anything below his neck, and would never be able to again.

It was fortunate that the Lati twins, Rynn and Ryan, had found him and had been looking after him since.

Without Kaiser, his army had quickly fallen apart and without that, the hatred and wars eventually died down. One result of that was that Kioi had finally been freed from his icy prison, and eventually managed to track down Zian.

However, centuries of being immortals had taken its toll on both of them, for they had aged more rapidly than a typical dragon would.

No longer were they special, immortal dragons, just normal ones. And they were living their now mortal lives as best as they could.

"I always wonder what happened to them." Kioi flicked the artificial tongue he now used to help him speak. "Kris, Nightslice and the rest."

"The link between the worlds is closed, at least from our side." Zian replied. "But knowing them, I'm sure they're doing fine. Doesn't take a psychic to figure that out."

That got the two dragons, the last of the former Legendary Dragons, laughing. Despite their paths almost being at an end, there would always be new ones beginning.

Especially so since time passed differently in the Dragon Realms and in the human world…

* * *

**12 years after the battle, Human World…**

Kneeling beside a gravestone, the young, blue haired woman placed a bunch of flowers down. Beside that was a simple wooden cabin by the seaside, where both the young woman and her recently deceased guardian had lived for the past twelve years.

A lone Salamence stood close by, a single witness to the small ceremony.

"I guess we're done here Tanya." The lady turned her head.

"So, where to now Yusia?" Tanya cocked her head. "A journey of your own?"

"Indeed."

"Haha, I know all of Cid, your sister and everyone would've been happy to see you now."

"I know Tanya…I know…" Yusia slung a knapsack onto her back with a wink. "Well, we're off…"

With that, the pair begun walking down the beach, their bodies silhouetted against the orange glow of the setting sun.

**END **

* * *

**_Author's Closing Comments:_ **

_Well, that's it. After 3 seasons, the end of my very first series in a sense._

_Hmmm…perhaps it didn't turn out exactly the way I'd imagined it, but nevertheless, it was a tale that I felt had to be told to the very end. Perhaps I could've done things differently, done things better, but well I'm pretty satisfied with the way it all turned out._

_Once again, thank you one and all for reading!_

_Do keep a look out though, by no means is this the last of my works. I'll be back, most likely both on fanfiction net and fictionpress under my usual pen name._

_So, until then!_

_**--nightdragon0**_


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